These days it's tricky enough finding adults who understand the power that real food and natural living can have on our lives, so when you come across a high schooler who gets it, that's especially exciting. (The picture above is Kent and I at my high school graduation open house, I certainly didn't get it back then, heck, I was 37 before I had a clue, so if you're still just coming around, don't feel bad.)
I get a lot of emails everyday, but this one stood out, so I thought I'd share it with you. Here's a young gal, a senior in high school, who seems right on it in many areas, but sadly it sounds like she's been deceived in one big area. I took out her name for privacy reasons.
Read this and see if you agree…
Hello Kelly, I love your blog and just found it yesterday. It's always good (and very rare) to find healthy, whole food enthusiasts who are also Catholic, it's very encouraging!!
I am a high school senior and have volunteered at a local dementia care facility for three years. I've bonded in true friendship with the residents, however not until recently have I personally adopted a whole food diet and found physical healing for myself through this lifestyle. After personally undergoing these lifestyle changes, I started to take notice of the food being served at this facility — meat (often chicken, ham, or turkey), potatoes, and canned or severely nutritionally zapped peas or green beans. I doubt any of this is organic, because why buy organic when one could get conventional at a cheaper price (especially for an entire facility)? I say this sarcastically of course, and sadly.
Furthermore, the facility I volunteer at is top tier, high end, very expensive, well kept and well managed — which scares me even more for those that are not well managed, less expensive, and in lower income communities, as far as the food served (and the care given).
I wanted to know if you have any resources regarding nutrition linked to Alzheimer's — because I know this would be a big fight to take on, very likely on the Federal level, but I'd like to see evidence of specific diets working well with people, specifically whole food diets. I saw Dr. Greger's video on “preventing alzheimer's with plants” and I thought it was remarkable, especially interesting about the hesitancy towards full scale studies and their near impossibility.
I know this isn't your specific area of study, but I wanted to reach out to you regarding this because I know you know the importance of lifestyle change and I know I will be shot down by those who don't know the benefits of nutrition-based medicine.
It is a personal journey, luckily I am making mine, and I want to help others. I want to be a naturopathic doctor, and I am passionate about nutrition through a plant-based lifestyle and I am passionate about those afflicted with dementia because I know it is preventable.
Thank you for your help and time spent reading this, I can't imagine how busy you are. Sincerely, K
My response:
Hi K,
Wow, to find someone your age who GETS IT about how powerful food is to our health and well-being is so REFRESHING!!! 🙂
- First, have you seen my post on just what you wrote me about? Nursing Home Food Should Be Illegal
- Also, here's one specifically on Alzheimers: Alzheimers Disease and Coconut Oil
Sadly, I think it may be a while before real food comes back around to nursing homes, because the people there have been brainwashed for so many years into thinking that the “food” there (if you can even call it that) is “normal”.
Although on a happy note, here in Grand Rapids, Michigan there is a retirement home with real chefs who have won awards for their real food, I love it!! Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel. 🙂
I hope those links help a little and I'll ask my readers if they have more information that might help as well. One more thing I wanted to share with you, about plant-based diets specifically, is this post I wrote a while back:
- Meet your Meat (plus there are more links you may want to read at the bottom of that post, too).
- One more written by my friend, Joanie: The Cowspiracy Farce — it's not what you eat, it's how it's GROWN (or raised)
Both of these posts express the frustration myself and others feel that meat raised right –animals treated humanely, raised sustainably, and out on lush green pastures– can make ALL the difference, and that studies done using conventional/factory-farmed animal foods really can't give a true picture. I'm happy to chat more about all of this if you have any questions, and it's great to meet you K!
Kelly
I never heard back.
I hope I didn't scare her off, especially when she's doing so well in many areas. How would YOU have responded?
I'm guessing she saw a film that is deceiving many teens these days called, Cowspiracy. That's why I sent her that post, The Cowspiracy Farce. However, I've learned that once teens switch over to thinking that they're helping the world and “saving the animals”, it usually isn't until later when their health is a mess that they're open to learning about the real issues.
Lierre Keith's health severely deteriorated after years on a vegan diet.
Through much research she learned that her reasons for going vegan in the first place were based on fallacies. In this interview you'll learn why the belief that a vegan diet is environmentally “green” couldn’t be further from the truth, plus where vegans and “omnivores” agree: Vegan MYTHS Debunked with Lierre Keith. Or find her book here, “The Vegetarian Myth, Food, Justice, and Sustainability“.
More you might like:
- First, if you don't have a good local source for healthy meat, click here for a safe source of pastured meats online.
- Are Vegetarians Moral Heroes?
- What’s REALLY Behind GMOs? p.s. Don’t Blame the Farmers (Atheists Please Read)
- One Question for Your Farmer that You MUST Ask
- What Knowing Your Local Farmer Looks Like and How Easily YOU Can Help Your Local Farmer Grow
- How I Got Lazy and the 5 Ways I Have Recommitted to Real Food and Healthy Eating
- 3 Tips on Knowing Your Farmer: Exactly What Questions to Ask Your Farmer, How to Bring up the Sticky Issues, and How to Find Real Food
- More posts on healthy meat here (you'll need to scroll past some of them that I listed here)
Margaret Winn says
If she is already interested in good food, I think a lot of the rest will follow. Her journey will be her own, and she will hear it when she is ready. It’s convenient to say, “if only I’d listened or done this or that, how much better that would have been.” But the reality is, if we had done those things, we would not be the people we are today. We needed those experiences to bring us to the places we are now. Kelly, your reply was very good, and the seeds have been planted. When she is ready to accept the truth, those seeds will blossom. That is all we can do. And kudos to this teen 1) for volunteering her time, energy, and love, and 2) for informing herself, even if we might wish for her information to be more complete. We all have to start somewhere. Keep it up, you are an inspiration to us all.
Katherine Vaporis Herron says
I was in my 40’s before I “got it”…better late than never
homeactivist says
I believe Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias are caused by the inability of the body to remove toxins. To prevent or cure these conditions we will need to help the body remove toxins, as well as avoiding the addition of additional toxins. Food served in nursing homes and assisted living facilities need to be full of nutrition such as healthy fats, and no garbage like preservatives and pesticide residues. Flu vaccines are pushed on people in these facilities, and their bodies should not have to handle those additional toxins either.
Jennifer Kneip says
My daughter is 19. She’s always been receptive to the food-health connection, but after she lived and worked on an organic farm for 3 months, she came home and now she teaches me things!! I love when younger people get it too!
Brenda Stern Cammarata says
Back in ’63 when I was that age, I did not have a clue. No one told us not to eat fried foods, excess sugar, veggies. If your belly was full that was what was important. My eldest daughter and her family always eat right but, last summer when I was complaining about how there were so many foods that we can’t eat now, such as farmed salmon, imported fruit and veg, she told me at my age I should just eat what I want. My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe it. I told her I wasn’t going to eat poison even if I wanted it. She said it was up to me.
Jo says
You handled it beautifully and most importantly planted several good seeds (vegetarian pun!) that may take root. You can’t change her mind-only she can do that. But you gave her some tools
Caitlin says
As always, a great post! Praying she sees the truth in a well rounded, sustainably farmed and pastured meats!
Caitlin says
Well rounded….diet* 🙂
Suzanne says
Kelly,
Your reply was right on. I would have said the same things. Just wait until she wants to learn about vaccines. I shudder how she will handle this one.