Campbell has written several books on nutrition, including “The Chinese Study”, and more than 300 research papers. He attributes his good health to moderate exercise and a plant-based, whole-food diet. “Knock on wood,” he adds.
On Sunday, Campbell will join a group of doctors, environmentalists and athletes in Fairfax Vegetable Festival in Herndon, Virginia, a free outdoor display of the benefits of a plant-based, whole-food diet.
Neal Barnard, associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in the District.
James Wilks, a former professional mixed martial arts fighter who appeared in “The Game Changers,” the documentary about the impact of a plant-based, whole-food diet, will talk about how going vegan helped him prevail in Ultimate Fighter from SpikeTV. Cage boxing championship.
Gene Baur, called “the conscience of the food movement” by time magazinehas raised awareness around the world of how our food system abuses animals and destroys the environment.
Cardiologist Baxter Montgomery has used plant-based, whole-food diets to lower high blood pressure and hypertension and reverse type 2 diabetes in his patients.
Jim Loomis, an advocate for whole food, plant-based diets, has served as an internal medicine physician for the St. Louis Rams football team and the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.
Gwyn Whittaker, owner of GreenFare Organic Cafe in Herndon, is one of the founders of Veg Fest, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Northwest Federal Credit Union parking lot at 200 Spring St.
“It’s not just for vegans, but also for plant-curious people who might have questions about why the plant-based whole foods movement is going strong and why this is the way for the future,” Whittaker said. .
It is a family event, with live music. Bring your pets. There will also be dogs for adoption.
But the main focus is healthy eating.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently noted that few Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables per day. And the consequences of that failure are stark.
The percentage of prediabetic adolescents, those who are about to develop type 2 diabetes, has more than doubled, from 12% in 1999 to 28% in 2018. according to JAMA Pediatrics.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2017 and 2018, the prevalence of obesity was 13.4% among children aged 2 to 5 years, 20.3% among those aged 6 to 11 years, and 21.2% among those aged 12 to 19 years years. About 26 percent of Hispanic children are obese, 24 percent of black children, 16 percent of white children and 9 percent of Asian children.
Overweight children are more likely to become obese adults. They will develop heart disease and diabetes even as children.
Those most affected by coronavirus they tend to also suffer from other comorbidities that accumulate due to obesity.
A plant-based, whole food diet would help them better control their weight. And live longer. Not only survive but also thrive.
For decades, studies have shown the benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables, including lower blood pressure, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and possible help in preventing certain types of cancer.
Apparently, a lot of people didn’t get the message. Veg Fest is just one way for investigators and others to present the case in person.
Barnard is one of the nation’s leading researchers on the use of plant-based, whole-food diets to reverse chronic disease.
“There have been significant advances in the way diets prevent and reverse certain diseases, and we need to get this information to the people who need it,” Barnard said. “We need to take these scientific findings and give them to the public in a format that’s fun and accessible, because the average person doesn’t read the New England Journal of Medicine.”
Certainly not those millions of Youth ages 12 to 19 with prediabetes.
“It’s not just that we can improve our health,” Barnard said. “It’s that we finally have hope that our next generations won’t inherit the health problems that we inherited from the generation that came before us.”
But somehow, this generation must be armed with the knowledge of what their options are: good health through fruits and vegetables, or health problems that could become lifelong problems?
They may die young of preventable diseases, or be as vigorous in their old age as T. Colin Campbell.
At Veg Fest, the choice will be life.
