Vegucation Over Medication

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The information presented herein represents the views of the

author as of the date of publication. The purpose of this book is to

educate. Due to the rate at which conditions change, the author

reserves the right to alter and update his opinions at any time. While

every attempt has been made to verify the information in this book,

the author and publisher do not assume any responsibility for any

injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the

information within this book. You will not find a reference section

for studies in this book because although studies have had utility, the

vast majority of them are biased, and none of them have advanced

us towards an actual cure. In the author’s experience in studying the

world’s healthiest populations around the world, none of these

populations used studies to guide their personal health. So it is the

author’s position and desire that we all begin to use our own

intuition about what is and isn’t nourishing to our well-being instead

of allowing science to solely dictate what is.

This book is not intended to be a substitute for medical

advice. It’s intentions are quite the contrary. The philosophies and

approaches to well-being in this book are intended to give you a

holistic approach to re-engineering your perspective on wellness and


healing. Each person’s health needs are unique and often require

individual attention. To address your specific needs, please consult

your personal healthcare provider.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or

otherwise, without prior approval from either Wise Old Owl

Publishing Company or Dr. Bobby Price.

Copyright 2018 Bobby J. Price, Pharm.D.

Printed in the United States of America

Published by Wise Old Owl Publishing

International Standard Book Number: 978-0-9996124-0-8


Contents

Contents ................................................................................ vii

About the Author .................................................................. xi

1. Vegucation Over Medication ............................................ 1


The Centenarians of Okinawa............................................... 6
Studying in India ................................................................ 13
The Amazing Human Body ................................................ 15
The Key to Health Is Plant-Based Food .............................. 16
Too Many Americans Are Sick .......................................... 17
Food Can Be Medicine ....................................................... 20
Warfarin: From Rat Poison to Blood Thinner ..................... 21
What You Don’t Know About Statin Drugs ....................... 24
Healthcare Professionals and Patients Need to Be Vegucated29

2. The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload .......................... 31


The Power of Natural Vitamin C ........................................ 33
Genetics Are a Predisposition, Not a Predetermination ....... 35
The Cascade of Prescription Drugs ..................................... 37
The Truth About Your Genes ............................................. 40
If It’s Not a Whole Food, It’s a Toxin................................. 42
You Have to Be a Scientist and Nutritionist
Just to Read Food Labels! ................................................... 43
The Toxins Accumulate ..................................................... 45

Contents vii
viii Vegucation Over Medication

Other Nations Have Taken Action ..................................... 46


Fake GMO Food ................................................................ 51
The China Study ................................................................ 53

3. The Protein Myth ............................................................ 56


Animal Meat and Organ Damage ....................................... 63
Americans Eat Too Much Meat ......................................... 66
We Were Born to Be Plant Eaters ...................................... 67
When Food Becomes Toxic ............................................... 71
Making the Change to a Plant-based Lifestyle .................... 73
The Impact of the Livestock Industry on the World............ 75

4. Ditch the Dairy ................................................................ 78


Casein and Whey: The Gruesome Twosome ...................... 81
Why You Should Avoid Cheese ......................................... 83
How to Get Calcium .......................................................... 85
Vitamin D .......................................................................... 86
The USDA and the Beef Lobby ......................................... 89

5. The Bitter Truth About Sugar ....................................... 93


Our Sugar Addiction .......................................................... 95
High Fructose Corn Syrup ................................................. 97
Metabolizing Sugars ........................................................ 100
Sugar Is a Drug ................................................................ 104
How the Holidays Help Spread the Flu ............................ 106
Sugar and Cancer ............................................................. 108
Aspartame, the Hidden Poison ......................................... 111
The Antidote to Sugar Is Fiber ......................................... 112
Contents ix

45 Different Aliases of Added Sugar ................................ 113


You Don’t Need to Be a Slave to Sugar! .......................... 114

6. Seeds of Deception ......................................................... 116


The Invention of Hybrid Foods ........................................ 119
Hybrid Plants that Pose as Healthy but Are Hazardous ..... 122
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) ........................ 127
The FDA’s Cozy Relationship with Food Companies ....... 129
The Suppression of the Pusztai Studies ............................. 131
Monsanto’s Roundup ....................................................... 133
How GMO Foods Are Patented ........................................ 135
Research Studies on GMO Foods ..................................... 137
Congress Sides with GMO Producers ............................... 139
In Its Darkest Hour, Haiti Rejected Monsanto’s GMO Foods
............................................................................................. 140

7. You Are What You Eat ................................................. 142


The Life Energy of Living Foods ..................................... 144
The Human Body is Electric............................................. 146
You Are What You Eat—and Drink ................................. 147
Food and the Spirit ........................................................... 149
There’s Profit in Chronic Illness ....................................... 151
The US Doesn’t Have Healthcare; We Have Sickcare ...... 152

8. H2O: The Perfect Solution ............................................. 155


The Many Problems of Dehydration ................................. 156
Caffeine Is a Powerful Drug ............................................. 164
How Much Water Should You Drink? .............................. 166
x Vegucation Over Medication

The Poor Quality of Our Public Water ............................. 167


Finding Healthy, Living Water......................................... 170
When You Consume Water Matters Also ......................... 174

9. Digestive Rest ................................................................ 176


Your ‘Second Brain’ ........................................................ 179
The Dangerous Buildup of Toxins ................................... 180
The Six Paths of Eliminations .......................................... 182
Take a Look in the Toilet Bowl! ...................................... 187
Fiber ................................................................................ 188
The Scourge of Antibiotics .............................................. 194
The Digestive Process ...................................................... 196
Therapeutic Fasting.......................................................... 200
The Healing Crisis ........................................................... 203
My First Water Fast, Day by Day..................................... 204
Your First Water Fast....................................................... 208

10. Going Green ................................................................ 213


The Problem with Personal Hygiene Products .................. 218
The Dirty Dozen Chemicals ............................................. 222
Damage to Our Soil and Our Food Chain ......................... 226
It’s Time You Get Some Vegucation! .............................. 228
Making Your Green Smoothies ........................................ 231
Thank You! ..................................................................... 251
About the Author

D
r. Bobby J. Price is a certified plant-based nutritionist,

exercise physiologist and Doctor of Pharmacy. He has

extensive clinical experience in the hospital setting,

one-on-one patient contact in community pharmacy, and health care

regulatory experience with the Food and Drug Administration

(FDA).

After personally experiencing the healing powers of a plant-

based lifestyle seven years ago, he was inspired to adopt a more

holistic approach to healing others. Since that time, he has traveled

the world studying with herbalists, shamans, and spiritual gurus,

learning the magical arts of healing the mind, body, and soul. Now,

instead of filling synthetic prescriptions, he uses plant-based foods,

medicinal herbs, and simple holistic techniques to help others

restore their well-being.

In Vegucation Over Medication, he exposes the myths, lies,

and truths about modern foods and medicines. He believes that when

About the Author xi


xii Vegucation Over Medication

aligned with nature, our bodies have an innate ability to heal and the

responsibility of our health can be placed back into our hands—

where it belongs.

You can find Dr. Price on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.


1.
Vegucation Over Medication

E
Let Food Be Your Medicine, Medicine Be Your Food.
—Imhotep, 2600 BCE

I
n 2011, I was eating a lion’s share of meat daily and handing

out medications like lifesavers to drowning victims. I truly

believed my work as a pharmacist was saving lives and

making a difference in my community.

I had started my career in healthcare with the audacity to

believe that modern medicine could stop disease and, in some cases,

even cure patients. In pharmacy school, we had learned all about the

new cutting-edge technologies and upcoming advances in medicine.

We all believed that one day, illness would be a thing of the past.

I’ve always felt most fulfilled when I was caring for

someone. It wasn’t uncommon for me to pay for a patient’s

Vegucation Over Medication 1


2 Vegucation Over Medication

prescription when it was too expensive and even go to a patient’s

house to explain how to use an insulin pen or glucose meter. Over

time, I began to understand that something wasn’t right. That

protective layer of a sense of fulfillment started to wither away.

Despite the best efforts of our healthcare system, every day it

seemed like I was seeing a new patient who had been handed a life

sentence to high blood pressure, diabetes, an autoimmune disorder,

or cancer.

Even with all the advances in technology and medicine, it’s

more common for people to be sick than healthy in America. Our

drinking water is contaminated, the air is polluted, foods are tainted

with chemicals, and medical errors are the third leading cause of

death after heart disease and cancer. I was beginning to feel less and

less like a healer and more like a dealer.

Even I was not immune to chronic disease. Since the age of

sixteen, despite being an athlete with less than 8% body fat, I had

been struggling with hypertension. Like most people, I figured it

was hereditary, and there was nothing I could do about it. As a

result, during every doctor’s visit, I would receive a prescription and

ultimately refuse to take it. This should come as no surprise because


Vegucation Over Medication 3

most healthcare practitioners make the worst patients, and I wasn’t

an exception. The concept “once you have it, you got it” was

ingrained in my psyche during pharmacy school. To my knowledge,

chronic diseases could only be managed, not cured.

It wasn’t until I decided to adopt a plant-based vegan

lifestyle for 60 days as a means to lose my belly fat that the idea of

heredity as a health predetermination began to come unraveled. I

was only hoping to lose maybe ten pounds at best during the

challenge, and I was pretty skeptical about that. But instead, I lost 35

pounds and six inches off my waistline and eased the aches and

pains in my joints. The tingling sensations in my legs ceased, my

keg turned into a six-pack, and the elevated blood pressure I had

since a teen normalized. My blood pressure dropped from a typical

average of 160/95 to 120/74. I couldn’t believe it!

I ended up getting several colleagues to recheck my pressure

just to confirm that I had, in fact, been cured. I instantly became an

evangelist at the counseling window, especially for patients with

high blood pressure, giving them my personal testimony. Everyone

was asking me what I had done to lose the weight because it was

such a dramatic shift in such a short amount of time. I explained


4 Vegucation Over Medication

how my plant-based prescription that included green juices and

smoothies had healed me. I shared my recipes and told them the

foods they needed to restrict.

One by one, they came back to share their own success

stories. What was even more shocking was discovering they weren’t

just being cured of high blood pressure but almost every condition

for which they were being treated. Patients who suffered from

diabetes for decades balanced their blood sugars. The weight melted

off their waistlines like butter. Cholesterol levels plummeted. Joint

inflammation disappeared. Hormonal imbalances were restored, and

they experienced increased energy with glowing skin tones and

pain-free menses, just to name a few positive side effects.

Before I knew it, patients were showing up at my counseling

window, asking me for ‘the cure’ in a whisper. Sometimes patients

would call and ask what they had to do to get better, so I would

begin to give them conventional medical advice. They would

quickly interrupt and say, “Not that way, doc. Your natural way!

Maybe I should have come into the pharmacy instead of calling?”

They were speaking as if I were doing something illegal!

This made me realize that while what I was doing wasn’t illegal, it
Vegucation Over Medication 5

wasn’t good for business. In our current healthcare system, it’s

frowned upon to replace medical advice with a holistic approach. I

can remember working for the Food and Drug Administration

(FDA), fielding calls from patients who had been injured by

prescriptions and attending drug approval hearings, thinking that our

design for healing was flawed and, in many cases, bordering

criminal mischief.

And only a few years later, I had become an instrument for

that system in a community pharmacy!

I decided right there I wanted better for patients and better

for myself. I realized that what my friends, colleagues, and patients

needed was not medication but vegucation. They needed to

understand and embrace a new approach to the food they ate and

embark on a new journey towards good health.

Then the opportunity came for me to leave the United States

and move to Okinawa, Japan, where I was able to study one of the

healthiest populations of Centenarians (people who live to be one

hundred or more years old) in the world. With my newfound

knowledge of what a healthy lifestyle looked like, I leaped at the

chance. I was especially excited because, in an effort to understand


6 Vegucation Over Medication

why so many younger patients were getting ill and dying so early, I

had started researching Centenarians around the world. When the

offer came in 2013, I realized I had been studying the same people

living 11,000 miles away whom I would soon be meeting!

The Centenarians of Okinawa


Despite being a small and densely populated island, Okinawa

has consistently had one of the highest proportions of centenarians

in the world. I lived on the island for more than three years,

routinely visiting a small village named Ogimi, home to more than a

dozen centenarians. Each time, I was shocked to see people in their

nineties, and even over one hundred years old, riding bikes, walking

up hilly terrains, farming and enthralled in joyful conversation with

each other. What was even more impressive was the quality of life

they enjoyed at the century mark. Many were disease-free, with

minds sharp as tacks, and still physically capable of manual labor.

It was common for me, as a healthcare practitioner, to see

someone in their forties riddled with disease and with a quality of

life that was just above a death certificate. In stark contrast to the

Standard American Diet (which carries the ironic acronym of SAD),


Vegucation Over Medication 7

these Okinawans consumed an array of seasonal vegetables and

fruits that were organic, anti-inflammatory, nutritionally dense and

contained phytonutrients capable of stomping out cancer. Instead of

the fried syrupy breakfast we prefer in the United States, herbal teas

and sea vegetables constituted a typical morning meal for them.

During my time in Okinawa, I would ask local friends to

take me to Ogimi Village to visit either their grandparents or friends

of their family who were still spry at the age of 100 years or more.

They would talk to me about their lifestyle and allow me to be a

witness to it. Walking through their gardens was like going into an

armory of weapons for good health. The foods they grew were an

arsenal against virtually every disease known to man and a perfect

protocol for longevity.

Their staple vegetable was the nutrient-packed Beni-imo

(purple sweet potato), which represented over two-thirds of their

vegetable consumption. It’s high in vitamins A and C and

manganese but also helps regulate blood sugar while demonstrating

an antifungal and anti-bacterial effect. There were vegetables like

Goya (bitter melon) that also helps to balance blood sugar and
8 Vegucation Over Medication

reduce HbA1c (shorthand for hemoglobin A1C or glycosylated

hemoglobin) for diabetic patients.

They also grew mugwort ,luffa, fruit and turmeric. Mugwort

is anti-epileptic, stimulates gastric juices and bile secretions during

digestion, helps regulate menstruation and can aid in depression.

Then there was the luffa fruit (luffa gourd), which is extremely high

in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It also treats colds and sinus

infections and can be dehydrated and used as a sponge. Turmeric

root, which is naturally anti-inflammatory, has been clinically

proven to prevent and fight cancer and lowers the risk of heart

disease. They ate mozuku, which is a form of seaweed rich in

vitamin K that improves blood circulation, reduces cholesterol, and

boosts the immune system.

These were just a few of the foods they grew and ate on a

daily basis. I also saw pineapples, oranges with green skins and

heavily seeded, and green papaya growing in the wild. Just as

Imhotep had advised over four thousand years ago, these people

were literally making food their medicine and medicine their food.

I was able to use the military libraries on the bases in

Okinawa, where they kept extensive records of the Okinawans’ diets


Vegucation Over Medication 9

and lifestyles both prior to and after the American war with Japan.

The U.S. National Archives kept food records in 1949 based on a

survey of 2,279 persons done after WWII before the U.S. turned

Okinawa back over to Japan. I discovered that Okinawans did, in

fact, eat very small portions of meat, most often as small cubes of

pork used for flavoring vegetables. They sparingly ate fish, usually a

portion size less than half the palm of their hands. All in all, meat

and dairy represented only 3% of their diet.

The remainder of the Okinawan diet overwhelmingly

consisted of plant-based foods, with a very small percentage of

processed foods. It was also interesting to discover that because the

foods they ate were so nutritionally dense, they only ate about 1,800

calories per day; however, by weight, they ate significantly more

than a typical meat eater would. This type of diet is high in fiber and

antioxidants and is highly anti-inflammatory.

According to a 2010 article in Current Gerontology and

Geriatrics Research, the diet of Okinawan was laden with

antioxidants, making their free radical levels significantly lower by

more than 50%. This heavily reduces their risk for cancer. This

study also determined this was not based on genetics; their


10 Vegucation Over Medication

antioxidant activity was the same as individuals who lived into their

eighties, and it was the excess antioxidants consumed in their plant-

based diets that afforded them the additional health.

This is a reflection of the culture, as it is common for

mothers, grandmothers, and physicians to use the old phrase “Hara

Hachi Bu” (Hara means stomach, Hachi is the number 8, and Bu

means level). This statement translates to: “Don’t eat until you are

full (10), stop at 8.” However, the caloric restriction of their diet

does not supersede the plant-based nature of it. When compared to

the Loma Linda California Adventists, vegetarians have the highest

life expectancy of any formally described population and eat a 100%

meatless diet. These particular Adventist vegetarians have an

average life expectancy of 83.3 and 85.7 years for men and women

respectively. These averages were slightly better compared to

Okinawan men, whose average age was 77.6 years in 2000, and

comparable to Okinawan women who averaged 86 years.

The best group among them was the Adventist vegetarians,

who incorporated healthy lifestyles as well, such as not smoking and

consistent exercise. The life expectancy for men was 87 and women

was 89.6 years on average.


Vegucation Over Medication 11

Their diet and lifestyle explains why Okinawans experience

up to three times fewer deaths from colon cancer, are 5.5 times less

likely to die from breast cancer, seven times less likely to die from

prostate cancer, and up to a 12-fold reduction in death from heart

disease.

I spoke in detail with many of the elders in the village and

learned a lot about the myths and misperceptions we have around

food in America. Even the idea that Japanese are leaner and

healthier as a result of genetics and a faster metabolism is based on

myth. The elder explained that because of the remote location of

Ogimi in the north of the island, the locals maintained their

traditions of eating and living, uninfluenced by the poor eating

habits of westerners located in the central part of the island. After

World War II, the U.S. military occupied this tiny island for 27

years, up until 1972. Although the U.S. relinquished control of

Okinawa almost 45 years ago, many of their family members who

had moved to the central parts of the islands adopted the American

tradition of fast food. For the first time, the elders saw disease and

obesity in their families.


12 Vegucation Over Medication

Probably one of the most dangerous collateral side effects of

the American invasion was the introduction of burgers and fries with

A&W fast food chains, Spam luncheon meat made popular by

young soldiers, and now more than a dozen KFCs on the island.

Case by case, the villagers gave me countless stories about slender

granddaughters who had married American soldiers and left

Okinawa to move to the States, only to return overweight. They

spoke of sons and nephews who had moved near American bases

and had fallen in love with the foods that catered to the military

began to experience obesity and heart disease.

The longevity that Okinawans once possessed is now

becoming a thing of the past. Upon my arrival in 2013, the tiny

island was already riddled with fast-food restaurants. Despite being

in possession of the secret sauce to longevity, the locals have

embraced a Western diet, and in just two generations, Okinawans

have transitioned from being the leanest group in Japan to now

among the fattest.

This makes it clear that the argument of genetics is not the

deciding factor in health determination. But it doesn’t explain what

is it about eating meat that leads to poor health. The Western-style


Vegucation Over Medication 13

diet, more popularly known as SAD diet, is composed of 25% meat

and its by-products, 63% processed foods, and 12% plant foods.

Some form of white potato is 50% of the 12% of plant foods eaten

in the form of mashed potatoes, French fries, or baked potato.

In contrast, the traditional Okinawan diet was composed of

just 1% meat and its by-products. That was true vegucation!

Studying in India
When I moved to India to learn yoga, meditation, and

Ayurvedic medicine, my perspective on the human body completely

evolved. I honestly don’t know if before coming to India I had a

perspective beyond anatomy, biology, and reproduction of the body.

In India, I learned our body is the temple for our soul. It’s how we

experience the external world through our sensory perceptions,

while the mind is how we experience our internal environment

where the soul resides.

Instead of looking at ourselves as people here only to work,

reproduce, and die, we are spiritual beings here to have a human

experience, not vice versa. Our bodies and minds are our tools to

have this experience.


14 Vegucation Over Medication

With this perspective, it would then make sense for us to

have the best possible experience. We should maintain our vehicle

of life in top shape to better enhance our perceptions and have the

highest experience possible.

Practicing yoga and meditation at the K. Pattabhi Jois

Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India, helped me to create a

beautiful union between my mind and body. The practice has a

spiritual focus that is guided by the breath and moved by the body.

The poses are masterfully organized in sequential order to cleanse,

heal, and restore the body back to its factory settings. While the

chanting and meditation help to re-establish a peaceful mental

balance that calms the nervous system, alleviates stress and reduces

the heart rate and blood pressure.

I also learned that Ayurvedic medicine, much like traditional

Indian cuisine, used food as medicine. Like the Okinawans, the

foods recommended for yogis was Ayurvedic cooking that

contained medicinal herbs like turmeric, cumin, ginger, fenugreek,

coriander, cardamom amongst others that heal the body.


Vegucation Over Medication 15

The Amazing Human Body


This vehicle, the human body, is by far the most complicated

piece of machinery in existence on Earth. Here are a few amazing

facts about the magnificent machinery you possess:

 The stomach’s digestive acids are strong enough to not only

digest zinc but the tissues around it. However, the cells

lining the stomach regenerate at such a rapid rate it makes it

impossible to dissolve them.

 The brain produces the electrical energy equivalent to a 20-

watt light bulb, which would explain the comparison of a lit

light bulb over our heads when we have a great epiphany.

 You would need 82,000 processors for a supercomputer to

simulate just one second of 1% of our brain’s capacity.

 Ounce for ounce, human bone is stronger than granite or

steel, yet it weighs three times less. One cubic inch of human

bone (about the size of a matchbox) is capable of supporting

the weight of five pickup trucks, or roughly nine tons—this

is four times as much as concrete. The engineering of human

bone is so magnificently efficient and strong it has become a

template for many modern engineering projects, including

buildings and bridges.


16 Vegucation Over Medication

 A man’s testicles can manufacture up to 10 million sperm

cells daily. Which makes a man capable of repopulating the

entire planet in six months.

 The human body is made of seven octillion atoms. As a

comparison, our entire galaxy is made of only 300 billion

stars.

 Ninety percent of our cells aren’t even human in origin!

Most are fungi and bacteria.

 The skin is replaced every two weeks.

 Every 120 days, our entire blood supply is replaced.

 Every 300 days, through the brilliance of our divine

engineering, we have a new liver.

 Every ten years, we get an entirely new skeletal system.

The Key to Health Is Plant-Based Food


All of this wizardry doesn’t happen with a hidden magic

wand.

The magic is in our food. The foods we eat are used to

recreate that which took nine months to manifest in our mother’s

womb and 18 or more years to mature in the physical world. So the

body you so greatly identify with is a very fluid concept, and you
Vegucation Over Medication 17

are much younger than you think. However, if you eat fast and

cheap foods, you will age quickly and deteriorate at the same pace.

But if you adopt a plant-based diet lifestyle, devoid of meat, dairy,

and processed pseudo-foods, you’ll maintain a youthful appearance,

live a higher quality of life with less disease and have the

opportunity to die peacefully in your sleep at 100 plus years old.

As complicated as this machinery may seem, the primary

building block of your physical body is simply your nutrition. You

literally are what you eat. But just like any other highly

sophisticated machinery, our bodies have specific guidelines and

manufacturer’s requirements for optimal use. Like gas for cars, our

fuel (food) should be of the highest quality and packed with energy

to give us the vitality that defines life and not a zombie-like state of

living.

Too Many Americans Are Sick


America boasts the most expensive and technologically

advanced healthcare system in the world, yet it’s not designed to

keep people healthy, only to treat them when they’re sick. Our

healthcare system actually has no place for a healthy person!


18 Vegucation Over Medication

The truth is, in America, we don’t have healthcare; what we

have is sick care.

One of the biggest reasons is because there’s no money in

treating either deceased people or healthy patients. The money to be

made is right in the middle, from those individuals teetering on the

line between life and death riddled with chronic diseases, each organ

system failing slowly and one at a time. If it’s the pancreas, we call

it diabetes; if it’s the heart, we call it cardiovascular disease, and so

on. The majority of drugs are designed to manipulate our

biochemistry just enough to prolong life and create a lifelong

customer.

I’m not insinuating that your doctor wants you to be ill. In

actuality, I believe that out of love, most doctors make an enormous

sacrifice of their health to undertake the grueling task of becoming a

physician to care for others. Unfortunately, most healthcare

professionals are educated by the same system that by and large is

funded and educated by Big Pharma. So we are just as frustrated

with not being able to cure you as you are with not being cured.

The greatest whoppers to the health care of Americans (pun

intended) are heart disease and stroke. At a price tag of $432 billion
Vegucation Over Medication 19

annually, cardiovascular disease is responsible for one in every four

deaths in America. This will probably come as no surprise,

considering most people know that cardiovascular disease is the

number one cause of death for both men and women in the United

States.

However, what may shock you and your physician is the

knowledge that the number one cause of premature death in the U.S.

is directly related to the SAD diet, not heredity. What we inherit are

the eating habits of our family. And yet it seems that whenever there

is scientific and clinical discussion around a solution for chronic

diseases, nutrition is the invisible 800-pound gorilla in the room.

Modern medicine can’t be the answer because there’s never been so

much medical spending, yet Americans are getting sicker and dying

earlier in epidemic numbers.

This is precisely why despite being a pharmacist, I advocate

for Vegucation Over Medication. I’m not entirely against medication

because, in acute situations, drugs have lifesaving capabilities. I also

understand that people have a right to choose what they eat, and so

medications become necessary to manipulate our body’s

biochemistry. But most people are either misinformed or


20 Vegucation Over Medication

uninformed about which can foods heal, as opposed to those that

kill. The purpose of this book is to educate and explain how many of

your comfort foods cause illness, and plant-based lifestyle is the

greatest form of prevention and disease reversal.

Food Can Be Medicine


The use of food as medicine has a long recorded history that

spans thousands of years, even before the time of Hippocrates, and

today it still remains at the center of healing disease. Did you know

that up to 50% of all recently approved drugs worldwide have a

plant-based origin, either directly or indirectly? Many of you are

enjoying the therapeutic benefits of these drugs every day without

knowing.

 The ancient Egyptians used willow bark for the same aches

and pains as you do—but you probably know it as aspirin.

 The drug digoxin used to treat heart arrhythmias is derived

from the plant Digitalis Purpurea.

 Etoposide, an anti-tumor agent, used in the treatment of

cancer, is derived from the mayapple plant.

This list could literally wrap around a building, but what’s

important to understand is, although these drugs are derived from


Vegucation Over Medication 21

plants, they are very different from their natural parents. The

pharmaceutical drugs are filled with chemicals, dyes, and fillers that

end up creating the long list of potential side effects you experience.

If you consumed it as a whole food instead, you would not only

receive the medicinal benefits but also the nutritional and cleansing

effect.

We as healthcare professionals should be vegucating our

patients on the miracles of a whole-foods, plant-based lifestyle as

our primary form of prevention and disease reversal. But instead, we

passively mention the importance of diet and aggressively prescribe

drugs.

Warfarin: From Rat Poison to Blood Thinner


Patients who are dehydrated and are eating sugary and fatty

foods can cause their blood to become viscous, reducing circulation.

This also increases the potential for blood cells to stick together and

form clots. These clots can form in the leg and cause deep vein

thrombosis or dislodge and go to the heart to cause a heart attack or

to the brain, leading to a fatal stroke.


22 Vegucation Over Medication

Such patients are typically placed on a blood thinner called

Coumadin.

Here’s where the plot thickens. The active ingredient,

warfarin, was initially formulated as a rat poison, and it acted by

thinning the rodents’ blood so much they died from massive internal

bleeding. Since 1954, it has been prescribed to humans as a blood

thinner! The risk for bleeding is so high that it requires the patient’s

clotting factors be constantly monitored in order to ensure the

patient is properly dosed.

As Aureolus Paracelsus (1493−1541), the ‘Grandfather of

Pharmacology,’ wrote, “All things are poisons, for there is nothing

without poisonous qualities. It is only the dose which makes a thing

a poison. A lot kills, a little cures.” In the case of Warfarin: short

term, it can be life-saving, but long-term, the continued poor habits

along with the side effects of the drug can potentially be fatal.

I once had a patient who had lived in Argentina for a number

of years learning to become a tango dancer. Because of my love for

traveling, we spent much time talking at the counseling window

about his experiences living abroad. He was an older gentleman with

enough youthful vigor to still dance the night away, and I was a
Vegucation Over Medication 23

young pharmacist inspired by his experiences. One day while in

mid-conversation, I noticed his nose started bleeding. I quickly

grabbed a tissue and sat him down. I knew that he had been taking

Warfarin for years, and it was a few days after Thanksgiving, so the

first question I asked was if he had eaten an unusual amount of

green leafy vegetables during his Thanksgiving feasting.

He explained that in an attempt to eat a more plant-based

diet, he had eaten several plates of his mother’s tasty collard greens.

The irony is that the first counseling point we are trained to

educate patients taking warfarin is: “Continue to eat your typical

portion size of green vegetables.” This is because green leafy

vegetables contain vitamin K, which helps to clot the blood and

makes Warfarin ineffective. Many patients start avoiding green

vegetables all together at this point, but that’s where we allow our

decisions to be influenced by myths. It is not necessary for you to

avoid eating greens. The cause for concern is with dramatic shifts in

the amount of greens you consume while taking a blood thinner.

However, it’s important to decide on a set amount daily and then

speak with your doctor so that it can be built into your therapy and

the drug dosage can be adjusted. Eventually, with continued effort,


24 Vegucation Over Medication

your blood will become naturally thin, and your physician can wean

you off Warfarin.

As I mentioned before, pharmaceutical drugs can be life-

saving in acute situations such as embolic stroke or if a patient has a

mechanical heart valve. But over the long-term, it’s imperative to

transition to a more holistic alternative because artificially thinning

the blood instead of addressing the cause of clotting will eventually

catch up with you.

Eating large amounts of animal protein, eggs, dairy, and

processed foods causes the blood to be viscous and concentrated.

When blood is stagnant and dehydrated, it sets the stage for blood

cells to aggregate together and leads to clots. Plant-based foods are

loaded with hydration and nutrients that naturally thin the blood

while also providing vitamin K2 to produce clots, which are

necessary if you happen to cut yourself.

What You Don’t Know About Statin Drugs


Here’s another case where vegucation is more necessary than

medication. If you look up the connection between cholesterol and

its impact on cardiovascular health, you’ll get a ton of conflicting


Vegucation Over Medication 25

information from both credible and layman sources. But what can’t

be disputed is the fact that Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering drug, in a

class of drugs known as statins, is the best-selling drug of all time.

What shouldn’t be confused is the phrase ‘best-selling’ with ‘most

effective,’ because the rate of cardiovascular deaths is still the

leading cause of death globally to the tune of 17.7 million lives

annually. Coronary artery disease, the narrowing of arteries caused

by fatty plaques, is responsible for 850,000 opportunities annually

for surgeons to crack open the chests of Americans to surgically

implant stents. These surgeons have a first-hand view of the impact

of meat, dairy, and processed vegetable oils on our vascular health

due to inflammation and fatty deposits.

What needs to be understood is that the words ‘fat’ and

‘cholesterol’ are not synonymous.

Cholesterol gets a bad reputation because only the tragic side

of its story is told. In fact, cholesterol is present in the membranes of

every cell in our body. It’s essential for making vital hormones like

vitamin D, testosterone, and estrogen, and in the production of bile

acids, which are responsible for dissolving digested fats. Eighty

percent of our cholesterol is made by the liver and intestines at night


26 Vegucation Over Medication

while we’re comfortably asleep. We only require 20% of our

cholesterol from dietary sources.

Health becomes disease when we over-consume processed

fats, sugars, and unhealthy proteins that are later converted into

triglycerides and the type of cholesterol that clogs arteries. For

instance, if you have two eggs every morning for breakfast (each

containing 200 mg of cholesterol), the liver will, in turn, produce

1,600 mg of cholesterol. According to the Mayo Clinic, healthy

individuals should consume no more than 300 mg of cholesterol

daily. You can easily see how quickly your cholesterol levels could

explode, considering you ate just two eggs, not even including the

bacon or pancakes saturated with syrup!

For the majority of patients, when their blood cholesterol

levels begin to peak beyond 200 mg/dL, despite the risk of

dangerous side effects, their physician will immediately put them on

a statin drug. It is well known that statins can deplete your body of

the enzyme CoQ10, which is directly involved in energy production

in the cells. This is what produces the side effect of fatigue that’s

often experienced. Statins can also cause memory loss, increased


Vegucation Over Medication 27

risk for diabetes, liver damage, muscle pain, and a life-threatening

condition called rhabdomyolysis.

The truth is, while statins can be very effective at lowering

your blood cholesterol levels, new studies are showing that this does

not correlate to a reduction in cardiovascular disease and could be

putting you at an increased risk for a cardiovascular incident.

According to a 2015 report published in the Expert Review for

Clinical Pharmacology, the initial clinical studies that validated the

efficacy of statins used a statistical manipulation tool called Relative

Risk Reduction (RRR) to exaggerate the mediocre benefits of the

drugs. When compared with the absolute risk, it was discovered that

these drugs are only effective for 1% of the entire population (1 out

of 100 persons).

My father had a first-hand encounter with statins. While I

was living in Japan, he suffered a stroke, and unbeknownst to me,

his physician prescribed him Atorvastatin 40mg (Lipitor). Months

later, my father began to complain of being lethargic and forgetful.

This was especially odd because my father was always able to recall

detailed memories from my childhood even I wasn’t able to

remember. When I asked if he was still walking the neighborhood


28 Vegucation Over Medication

for exercise, he said he wasn’t able to walk forty yards away from

the house because he would get tired and have extreme leg pain. In

addition, his blood sugar began to spin out of control.

It’s very common in health care to misinterpret drug side

effects as signs of aging, and this is exactly what was happening to

my father.

After informing his physician and discontinuing the drug,

within six months, the symptoms had begun to resolve themselves.

This is another case where addressing the symptoms instead

of the cause can lead to more harm than good. If we as healthcare

professionals were equally as aggressive with counseling patients on

necessary lifestyle adjustments as we are with handing out

prescriptions, then the vast majority of drug therapy would become

obsolete. Had my father been properly educated about what foods

were causing the elevated cholesterol levels and which plant-based

sources to use as replacements, he would have never had to suffer

from the ill effects of statin drugs or subsequently have had his

gallbladder removed.
Vegucation Over Medication 29

Healthcare Professionals and Patients Need to Be


Vegucated
In my opinion, it would be unfair to place all the blame in

the lap of the physician. After all, at the vast majority of medical

schools, students are not required to take even a single course on the

subject of nutrition, and it’s only offered at 25% of schools as an

elective. Asking the average physician about nutrition would be the

equivalent of asking a policeman to defend you in a court of law.

Our common sense tells us that in each case, the subject matter is

related to the professional, but in both cases, they are most often ill-

prepared to be of any service. The belief that we can eat whatever

we want and then use a ‘magic pill’ as to fix any problems is

precisely why 70% of all Americans are taking at least one

prescription. The bulk of modern foods we’ve developed an

emotional connection to have addiction engineered into the

ingredients. The foods we think we love so desperately are just a

false representation of the nourishing relationship we could be

having with plant-based whole foods. Instead, we’re in this toxic

relationship with processed foods and drugs.

For over a century, the astronomical cost of health has been

rising directly in correlation with disease. That blatantly says that


30 Vegucation Over Medication

despite the fact we have the best medical technology and spend

more health care dollars than any other country in the world, the

system is failing.

More importantly, it tells us you cannot buy good health.


2.
The Cause of Disease:
Toxic Overload

E
If prevention can be accomplished, then cures will not be
needed. –Dr. J.H. Tilden

S
ince 1938, over 1,453 drugs have gained FDA approval

all in the name of curing people of their various illnesses.

Yet not one of these drugs has even cured the simplest

ailment, the common cold.

The failures of modern medicine are due largely in part to its

reductionist approach to healing the human body. The reductionist

philosophy believes that by addressing the part of the whole that is

experiencing the greatest effect (symptom), a treatment can be

developed. This ‘divide and conquer’ approach directly impacts how

we diagnose and treat disease. Most of the science of diagnosis

The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 31


32 Vegucation Over Medication

comes from studying disease either in dead bodies or on Petri

dishes. This is why I say we don’t have a health care system; what

we have is sick care. It’s only designed to treat the sick and dying.

While healthy individuals are sent home until they can join the

party.

We take this same approach when it comes to vitamin and

mineral deficiencies. The doctor will attempt to treat individual

deficiencies with corresponding vitamins and minerals. The majority

of nutritional supplements are synthetic, but in nature, nutrients are

provided in perfect divine ratios to each other, not in single servings.

We often see failures of this philosophy with patients. If a

patient is anemic as a result of vitamin B12 deficiency but is

misdiagnosed and then given folic acid as treatment, the laboratory

results will show increased blood cell formation, and you will

appear to be cured. Meanwhile, the vitamin B12 deficiency goes

unnoticed; it can lead to nerve degeneration and potentially

paralysis. Both vitamin B12 and folate are part of the B-complex

vitamins, which can be found in plant-based whole foods to act as a

form of prevention and remedy to this patient. The healthcare

system approach to healing rarely addresses the underlying cause, so


The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 33

by default, it can never cure the disease. Cures only become

necessary when we fail to take the proper prevention. But then

again, prevention is only possible when you know the cause.

So let’s get to the root cause.

The use of whole foods to cure disease isn’t some new age

trendy concept; it’s a return to the original standard. From as far

back as ancient Egypt, there are 3,000-year-old medical texts that

document the use of plant-based foods to heal the same ailments we

suffer from today. And just like modern humans, subsequent

societies embraced advancement over nature, and their well-being

suffered as a result.

The Power of Natural Vitamin C


There have been many fortuitous discoveries in establishing

the connection between disease and nutrition, such as in 1497, when

Vasco de Gama’s crew discovered that “when life gives you scurvy,

make lemonade.” This was at a time when scurvy was the leading

killer of men who took to the seas, and citrus fruits became their

savior.
34 Vegucation Over Medication

Now we know the active ingredient in citrus fruits that cured

scurvy was natural vitamin C.

Did you know that most vitamins made today, whether they

are fortified into cereals or encapsulated in supplements, are created

in a laboratory? These synthetic versions are structurally identical to

the vitamins present in whole foods, but their activity in the body is

not. Even vitamins that are labeled ‘natural’ only require that 10%

originate from plant-based foods. The other 90% is left up to the

supplement manufacturer’s discretion. With the exception of

monkeys, guinea pigs, and humans, most animals are capable of

making their own endogenous vitamin C by making a few

alterations to glucose. Humans, unfortunately, don’t synthesize

certain enzymes, so we’re required to get vitamin C from dietary

sources.

Virtually all vitamin C sold today is in the form of ascorbic

acid. Here’s a rude awakening: Ascorbic acid is not vitamin C. It is

an extracted isolate of vitamin C most often made with genetically

modified high fructose corn syrup and other harsh chemicals.

Vitamin C is a complex that includes ascorbinogen, bioflavonoids,

factors (J, K, P), rutin, and tyrosinase. Vitamin C also requires


The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 35

mineral co-factors in proper ratios. If any of these supporting factors

are absent, then there will be no biological activity. The benefits of

vitamin C—including immune boosting, wound healing, collagen

formation, iron absorption, and tissue repairing—can only be

received when we consume it in its whole form from plant-based

foods. This was confirmed in 1937 by Nobel Prize Laureate Dr.

Albert Szent-Georgi, who discovered the chemical structure for

vitamin C. The conclusion of his research demonstrated that while

scurvy could not be cured with isolated ascorbic acid, consuming it

as a whole food had a success record much like the 1996 Chicago

Bulls with Michael Jordan.

Instead of making the clear connection between disease and

nutrition, medical science continues to round up its unusual suspects

and place the blame on innocent accomplices like inherited genetics.

Genetics Are a Predisposition, Not a Predetermination


Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003,

we now know that genetics play a very small role in the

development and progression of disease. What has a larger impact is

the internal environment created by the foods we eat, beverages we


36 Vegucation Over Medication

drink, stress, and lack of physical activity. These factors create an

environment that will either be conducive to health or the feeding

ground for disease. A toxic internal environment caused by

processed foods, dairy, meat, hormones, refined sugars, dyes,

preservatives, artificial colors, heavy metals, stress, and a sedentary

lifestyle flips the switch on for genes that code for disease.

The idea that heredity and genes are major determinants of

chronic diseases is probably one of the most overstated myths about

health. It creates a victim’s mind-state as it relates to our well-being

instead of the empowered understanding of just how potent our

body’s healing mechanisms are. When we look at the top killers of

Americans, there is no study, physician, or patient who can attest

that they have been cured when taking the traditional medicine

route. Yes, there are many patients who receive symptom relief, but

most often the relief they experience is because the disease has run

its course and the body has an innate ability to heal itself. Because

modern medicine has been a study of disease instead of healing,

naturally more disease has been created. Listening to a drug

commercial, even the healthiest person in the world will begin to

feel as though they’re sick. Today traditional physicians now have a


The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 37

hypochondriac’s urge to diagnose and a linebacker’s aggression to

prescribe. Take a trip to the doctor’s office, and you’re bound to get

diagnosed with anything ranging from restless legs to Alice in

Wonderland syndrome (a real diagnosis by the way). Diagnoses are

created, and treatments are developed to address all the symptoms;

meanwhile, the disease grows progressively worse. Pretty soon,

you’ll have conditions for your conditions that need to be treated.

The Cascade of Prescription Drugs


It is a well-known practice in the medical field to use drugs

to treat the side effects of other previously prescribed drugs.

Diabetes is a perfect example of the failures of medicine. This

disease doesn’t get nearly the amount of attention heart disease or

breast cancer does because it’s not as sexy as the aforementioned.

Most people are completely unaware that they are either pre-diabetic

or diabetic, but that’s no surprise considering 70% of diabetics also

have America’s ‘silent killer,’ hypertension. As sweet as the disease

sounds, it doesn’t just impact your blood sugars. Diabetes increases

the risk of stroke and heart disease up to four-fold, is the leading

cause of blindness, accounts for over 60% of all lower limb


38 Vegucation Over Medication

amputations, 70% of diabetics will suffer mild to severe nerve

damage, and it’s the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease.

For men, often the canary in the mine (so to speak) is erectile

dysfunction. This is the first sign that shows us circulation has been

compromised and nerve damage is on its way. At first, it starts off

quite simple: metformin (for blood sugar control) and a little HCTZ

(‘water pill’ for blood pressure), and the patient thinks no harm, no

foul. But blood pressure can never be regulated by urination for very

long because it also leaves the body in a dehydrated state, so two or

three additional medications are eventually added because vascular

disease will worsen when the cause goes unaddressed. Blood sugar

levels will begin to skyrocket due to increased insulin resistance, so

additional oral medications are added on.

Type 2 diabetes slowly begins to transition towards type 1

(insulin required). And because all excess sugar in the body is

converted into fat, you now have a cholesterol issue (if you didn’t

have one before), and so a statin drug is added on. At some point,

diabetes becomes the sniper in the tower, picking you off piece by

piece.
The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 39

Next, there’s gum disease and tooth decay, followed by

degeneration of nerves, so gabapentin is added to your medication

bank, and then you begin to lose the sensation in your feet

altogether. This is followed by gangrene due to a lack of circulation

and increased toxicity.

This is why diabetics are at a high risk for amputations. It is

not uncommon to see diabetic patients with as many as 20

medications on their profile and leaving the pharmacy with a

grocery bag filled with prescriptions.

Does this sound like the traditional model for ‘treatment is

working’? Of course not, but as you can see, diabetics are the

perfect customers for bottom lines. I can remember being a

pharmacy manager, reading through our quarterly profit statements,

and diabetic patients were always the pharmacy’s top revenue

patients. Yet there are numerous studies, patient cases, and

testimonies that can be easily referenced to show thousands of

patients have been cured of diabetes by returning to nature’s

prescription. I can attest personally to this natural prescription

because it most certainly saved me from myself. Considering my

father had experienced the majority of those progressions, his


40 Vegucation Over Medication

mother passed as a result of them, along with my mother’s

father. With my family history, I could have easily just tossed in the

towel and embraced the belief that genetics superseded my ability to

heal. Even my physicians had told me that my family history made it

a certainty that I should prepare myself for the same diseases. But

what they saw as a genetic precursor, I saw as inherited habits

passed down in the form of poor nutrition and lifestyle.

The Truth About Your Genes


For a moment, let’s suspend the scientific mumbo-jumbo and

take a trip to common sense land. If the same DNA is passed on to

me from my grandparents and parents containing the same genetic

material as all my brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, and

children, why are these genes linked to disease choosing to express

themselves in some but not all family members? Now we often hear

of dangerous cancer genes that are passed on and put you at high

risk; however, the truth is, genes do not self-activate.

A gene cannot turn itself on or off. Genes are turned on or

off by a process known as gene regulation. It is an essential part of

normal cell development. Gene regulation can occur at any point but
The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 41

most often occurs at the level of transcription (when information in a

gene’s DNA is transferred to messenger RNA to make proteins).

This process is initiated by either signals from the environment or

from transcription factors, which are proteins. Regulation of

transcription is the most common form of gene control. When these

proteins (transcription factors) are not available to respond to the

environmental signal, conventional belief is that a random mutation

occurs (unpredictable outcome).

This poses a great contradiction to current medical science:

hereditary genes are expressing disease selectively, yet the mutation

is random. A more likely model was presented by John Cairns

Adaptive mutations, which states that genes don’t change randomly;

it is an environmentally directed mutation as a result of the internal

environment created by the patient. The idea that genetics has

predetermined a patient’s health is old medical science that must be

retired because we now know that genes only cause 5% or less of all

disease. In addition, modern science has proven that 95% of all

cancer has no hereditary linkage. Quite the contrary, 95% of cancer

is the result of your rewriting normal genes into cancerous genes as


42 Vegucation Over Medication

a result of the internal environment you create through lifestyle

choices.

The expression of disease is not based solely on a genetic

predisposition in chronic diseases but the acidic and toxic

environment that turns on these genes that express disease.

So the question becomes, what factors can determine a

patient’s internal environment? That would be what he or she

ingests nutritionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Anything

that we consume that isn’t natural and nourishing is a toxin.

If It’s Not a Whole Food, It’s a Toxin


Anything we eat that cannot be metabolized, absorbed,

assimilated, and its remaining by-products eliminated from the

system, becomes a toxin.

Modern processed foods are devoid of fiber and saturated

with toxic chemicals that accumulate in your colon as rotting

fermenting feces. These toxins produce by-products that leach out

into the bloodstream and wreak havoc on your blood vessels,

tissues, and organs. Ultimately, some of this waste material will be

stored in adipose tissue, creating unwanted belly fat.


The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 43

In very much the same way we can intoxicate ourselves with

alcohol, we do the same with modern foods. As we continue to auto-

intoxicate ourselves with these food-like products, our bowels will

become obstructed, leading to chronic constipation. This vicious

cycle is the seat of disease that is digging an early grave for modern

people.

You Have to Be a Scientist and Nutritionist Just to Read


Food Labels!
We dig our own graves with spoons and forks when we

chose to eat out of boxes, cans, jars, and anything that requires a

food label.

Being a chemist, pharmacist, and nutritionist gives me a

unique perspective on food labels and drug ingredients. On the one

hand, I find it fascinating how both organic and inorganic chemistry

creates this beautiful symphony we call life and food. But on the

other hand, chemicals used in foods today look more reminiscent of

the pharmaceutical industry than agriculture. The vast majority of

grocery stores are filled with endless aisles of shelf items with

expiration dates that will outlive some of their purchasers. We rarely

stop to think how these boxed, bagged, canned, and jarred items
44 Vegucation Over Medication

remain ‘fresh’ for so long. In order to understand the labels on these

‘Franken-foods,’ (named after the crudely assembled monster in the

horror novel Frankenstein), you would have to be a chemist and

nutritionist.

Luckily for you, I just so happen to be both.

The food industry goes to great lengths to ensure that

processed foods maintain their color, texture, taste, and especially

shelf life. This is how a food product that should contain only two or

three ingredients ends up with a laundry list of chemical names you

can barely pronounce. Everything from preservatives, dyes, artificial

colors, flavor enhancers, and refined sugars are added to hi-jack

your taste buds and increase company bottom lines.

The meat industry is worst because packaged meats don’t

require ingredient labels when they most definitely should.

Hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified organisms are fed

to livestock, which subsequently ends up in all animal products,

including the dairy products you feed your family. Often these

animals are ridden with disease because of the poor living

conditions they’re subjected to, and these diseases will also end up

on your plate.
The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 45

The Toxins Accumulate


To add fuel to the fire, we layer ourselves with toxic

hygienic and cosmetic products that seep into our skins and get into

our bloodstream. This is how we intoxicate ourselves literally to

death with daily doses of seemingly harmless products that steal

away hours, days, and years of our lives in such a gradual fashion

they remain undetected.

Our liver and kidneys become saturated with chemicals, and

our guts are constipated with backed up sewage. Our health is vitally

connected to our ability to eliminate waste from our bodies. Even if

we consumed the healthiest foods in the world, chronic constipation

would cause those foods to rot and become toxic. Once the body

reaches its toxic threshold, disease will most certainly appear. If the

toxins accumulate in the knees and joints, then we call it rheumatoid

arthritis. Accumulation in the colon, we call it colitis, and in the

kidneys, we call it nephritis. All of these signal the initial signs of

disease, which is inflammation. The inflammation is directly

correlated to an inflammatory and toxic diet. This unchecked

toxicity will eventually destroy the tissue beyond repair, as is the

case with type 1 diabetes and the pancreas.


46 Vegucation Over Medication

The great news is that as long as the tissue has not been

significantly compromised, the body’s healing mechanisms are

capable of reversing the disease when the offending toxins are

removed from the diet. But even if that weren’t the case, it’s never

too late to enjoy the fruits of the labor from embracing a whole-

foods, plant-based lifestyle. Despite the overwhelming evidence to

support the benefits of going green, our willingness to hold on to

myths about unhealthy foods is why we continue to be the sickest

and most obese country in the world.

Other Nations Have Taken Action


In my travels abroad, I noticed another trend. I noticed that

not only were many of the food products in America not available

outside the U.S., but many of them were banned because many of

the ingredients are considered toxic in other nations. There are

several hundred chemicals added to American products. Many of

these products are banned in most developed nations because they

contain chemicals that have been deemed detrimental to their

citizens’ health.
The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 47

Here are just a few of the noteworthy unsavory chemicals

that we could be handing ourselves doses of on a daily basis:

 Atrazine was banned in Europe in 2003, including

Switzerland, where it is manufactured. A UC Berkley

professor found that atrazine chemically castrates and

feminizes wildlife, and it also lowered the immunity in both

wildlife and laboratory rodents. The study also found that the

chemical induced breast and prostate cancer, with studies in

human populations demonstrating a similar correlation.

Used as a weed killer, the chemical has also become a

common drinking water contaminant, seeping into our food

supply. Despite this overwhelming information, the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency still allows its use.

 The FDA also approved the use of the arsenic-based drugs

Roxarsone and Nitarsone, which are used in animal feed

(poultry, turkey, and pork) to control infection, increase

weight, and make the meat appear more reddish in

appearance. The FDA contends these products are safe

because they are the organic form of arsenic, which is less

toxic than the inorganic form known to be carcinogenic.

However, further scientific data has shown that the organic

form converts to the inorganic form in tissues, which has


48 Vegucation Over Medication

been found in elevated levels in store purchased chicken.

The manure of those animals also contains inorganic arsenic,

which eventually migrates into the soil where it contaminates

both water and American rice crops.

By the way, the European Union has never approved this

product for safe usage in animal feed.

 The Trojan horse of all chemicals that slips by under our

noses undetected are antibiotics. Did you know that 80% of

all antibiotics in the U.S. are purchased to feed to livestock

animals? These animals are commonly fed antibiotics to

prevent disease development and to promote growth. These

antibiotics are then passed along to you when you consume

meat.

It is my professional opinion that this also contributes to

antibiotic resistance and the development of ‘superbugs.’

This is a huge medical issue because now there are infectious

organisms that no antibiotic is capable of treating.

 Fluoride is shrouded in the cloak of health and prevention

even as 185 million citizens are receiving massive amounts

in the form of tap water and dental products. Fluoride has

been credited with tooth cavity treatment and prevention;

however, there are a number of intricacies that should be


The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 49

revealed to discover how public health policy was shaped

and formed around this chemical.

The top concern is that the safety standards for water

fluoridation in America are based on antiquated science. The first

suggestion to fluoridate water can be traced back to a researcher

named Gerald Cox of the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research.

This suggestion was prompted by Francis Frary, who was a director

of an aluminum laboratory. Frary was concerned about the

deleterious effects of fluoride on aluminum plant workers, so he

asked Cox to look at the proposed benefits of using fluoride for

dental cavities.

For some background, the Mellon Institute was a leading

proponent of asbestos, which we all now know today is

carcinogenic. To protect companies from negligent lawsuits, the

Institute repeatedly produced data stating that mesothelioma was not

connected to asbestos.

The scientific community is well aware of the catastrophic

health effects of fluoride. A quote from the US Department of

Agriculture in 1970 states: “Airborne fluorides have caused more


50 Vegucation Over Medication

worldwide damage to domestic animals than any other air

pollutant.”

Here’s a quote from 1983 by Dr. Leonard Weinstein of

Cornell University: “Certainly there has been more litigation on

alleged damage to agriculture by fluoride than all other pollutants

combined.”

At the forefront of the water fluoridation movement was a

prominent scientist, Harold Hodge, who adamantly vouched for its

safety during the 1950s and 1960s. However, this is the same

scientist who was later discovered to be the team leader in the

“Human Radiation Experiment,” injecting patients with radiation

(plutonium) in conjunction with the University of Rochester. A book

called The Plutonium Files was written detailing the experiment.

Harold Hodge was also the chief toxicologist of the

Manhattan Project, which required massive amounts of fluoride for

the atomic weapons program and eventually led to many lawsuits as

a result of collateral damage during the assembling of the weapons.

Dr. William Marcus, a senior science advisor for the

Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water, discovered that

the studies conducted on fluoridation of water had been rigged and


The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 51

all the markers for cancer had been downgraded to obscure the

correlation of fluoride as a cancer-causing agent in water.

With the number of litigations and toxic effects to workers

for companies like Alcoa, US Steel, and others, you might wonder

how water fluoridation laws got passed. This ‘engineered consent’

undoubtedly was the work of the ‘Machiavelli of Public Relations’

during this period, Edward Bernays, who was hired by the National

Institute of Dental Research. In the United States, 67% of the U.S.

water supply is fluoridated, while in comparison, 98% of Europe has

banned water fluoridation.

In addition to water fluoridation, municipal water has been

found to contain prescription drugs, heavy metals, and chlorine. The

entire modern world is littered with toxins that chip away at our

immunity and well-being, and now the food supply is being

hijacked!

Fake GMO Food


Food is now being disguised in health with genetically

modified organisms (GMO) and passed off as nutrition. The food

industry and American government have assured the people that this
52 Vegucation Over Medication

synthetic food is safe; however, more than thirty European nations

have banned this food. And now China and the largest country in the

world, Russia, have produced studies that contradict the data

provided in the United States. The legislation protecting the masked

use of GMO ingredients in American foods is The Safe and

Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015.

The irony of the name has called for opponents of GMOs to

rename the bill The Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK)

Act.

This Act was a vendetta against legislation passed in

Vermont, Connecticut, and Maine initially requiring GMO labeling

on food labels. The Act was created to unravel labeling laws that

these states had already implemented as public policy. And despite

the fact that here in the U.S. the studies have been mixed as to

whether GMOs are safe, the act itself takes away the consumer’s

right to know whether or not they’re eating foods that contain

GMOs. This contradicts a 2012 Mellman Group poll that found 91%

of American consumers wanted GMOs labeled and a recent

CBS/New York Times poll found that 53% of consumers would not

purchase foods that were genetically modified.


The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 53

To understand the true plight of the issue in America, GMOs

are present in 80% of conventional processed food and 90% of all

soy and corn products.

In a later chapter, GMOs will be further discussed to reveal

their impact on health and society as a whole.

Our connection with food on a cultural, social, and emotional

level makes it difficult for us to accept a radical change in the things

we eat. The foods we eat today look and smell like the foods our

grandparents ate, but the majority are imposters at best. The

majority of conventional foods are engineered with addiction; so,

even when we want to change, it feels impossible to do so.

We can’t see the connection between what we eat and the

disease in our bodies because most often we don’t want to see it.

Then there are others who are searching for real answers, and they

only find lies and myths that lead them right back to where they

started.

The China Study


One of the greatest collections of data establishing the link

between disease and nutrition is The China Study. It is perhaps the


54 Vegucation Over Medication

most comprehensive study on nutrition and its connection to disease

ever done. The study was conducted over a 20-year period spanning

1978−1997.

Here are just a few parameters that will help you understand

why this study was exceptional:

 It included 367 variables, each of which were measured by


multiple methods when possible. For example, iron was
measured by six different methods, riboflavin (vitamin B2)
by three, and so on.
 Sixty-five counties in China were examined, each of which
included two separate villages and 100 villagers (over 6,500
adult samples) who completed a battery of questionnaires
related to lifestyle and diet, blood tests, urine samples, and
more. The populations were stable; an average of 93−94% of
the men were born in the village and 89% of women.
 The data was collected over the course of 20 years with the
help of surveyors who visited 30% of the test subjects.
 At the completion of the study, there were over 8,000
statistically significant associations between lifestyle, diet,
and disease variables.
What made this study unique when compared to all other

nutritional studies were the dietary characteristics in rural China. All

other studies related to nutrition and its link to disease examined test
The Cause of Disease: Toxic Overload 55

subjects who were consuming a Western diet rich in processed

foods, dairy, unrefined grains, and heavy meat content. This variable

remained true even in cases where vegetarians were included in the

study because 90% of vegetarians shifted their diet from meat to

consuming large quantities of milk, cheese, and eggs. Some still

consumed fish and poultry.

The conclusions of the 20-year study were alarming:

 Heart disease can be reversed by embracing a plant-based

lifestyle.

 Increased consumption of animal protein and its by-products

(dairy: eggs, cheese, milk, butter, etc.) shows a direct

correlation with increased risk for all chronic diseases.

 Animal protein promotes elevated cholesterol and cancer

growth.

In the next chapter, let’s explore how animal protein

promotes disease.
3.
The Protein Myth

E
If you think you cannot build muscle on bananas, I challenge
you to pick a fight with an ape.
— Garth Davis, M.D., author of Proteinaholic

M
any people have a love affair with meat that

borders addiction and obsession. The very thought

of not having meat during one meal, let alone an

entire day, sends them into a frenzy as if you were asking them to

stop breathing.

It has to make you wonder why a simple request creates so

much anxiety.

At one point in my life, I wouldn’t have responded any

differently. Yet, despite the fact that I began my plant-based journey

in 2011, and here I am, alive, well, and fit, people still don’t believe

you can survive, much less thrive, on a plant-based lifestyle.

56 Vegucation Over Medication


The Protein Myth 57

Somehow, protein has become the first and last conversation

whenever there is any discussion on the topic of nutrition. Most

people embrace the idea that because we are made mostly of muscle,

protein is much more significant than any other nutrient.

But when did the words ‘meat,’ ‘muscle,’ and ‘protein’

become synonymous?

And is animal protein really the best source of protein we

can have?

Let’s address these questions.

In 1838, the Dutch chemist Gerardus Mulder first discovered

the chemical structure of proteins. The word ‘protein’ itself comes

from the Greek word protease, meaning ‘of prime importance.’ This

was a fitting description, considering it was also discovered that the

muscles, skin, and organs are primarily made of proteins.

Proteins are made of varying combinations of twenty amino

acids, of which eight are called ‘essential’ because they must come

from the food you eat (nine for children).

The other twelve can be made by your body.

These twenty amino acids are combined in several thousand

chemical permutations that alter the functionality of the protein.


58 Vegucation Over Medication

Some of these functions include: enzymes essential for biochemical

reactions like digestion, contractile proteins responsible for

movement, antibodies that defend the body against foreign invaders,

hormones like insulin that regulate glucose (sugar) metabolism,

structural proteins like collagen and elastin in tendons and

ligaments, and proteins that transport hemoglobin which carries

oxygen through the blood.

No one can dispute the supreme importance of protein in all

life. However, the belief that because our muscles are made of

proteins, we’re required to eat massive amounts of animal protein to

maintain and build muscle, is a total myth.

Prior to the industrialization of our food supply, meat was

crowned king because there was a time when only the rich, wealthy,

and royalty could afford it. During these times, obesity and opulence

were viewed as symbols of wealth and health. Even in America, up

until the 1950s, the vast majority of Americans ate meat only on

occasions like Sunday dinners and birthdays because it wasn’t

affordable and wasn’t yet so deeply ingrained in our cultural

tradition.
The Protein Myth 59

Protein is without a doubt the most highly complex of all

nutritional sources. There is a much higher energy requirement for

digestive elimination of protein than any other macronutrients.

Fruits can be easily processed in 20 minutes on an empty stomach,

most vegetables, in 60 minutes, and whole grains and legumes can

take up to two hours.

Animal protein, however, takes a minimum of five hours to

be processed. But this is only if it’s a suitable portion size on an

empty stomach, not when in combination with other foods. When

meat is eaten with other complex macronutrients, the digestive time

in the stomach will significantly increase due to the stomach

attempting to metabolize proteins, fats, and carbohydrates

simultaneously with both acidic and alkaline digestive juices, which

will essentially neutralize themselves. This undigested food will

then be passed on into the small intestines unfit for assimilation and

utilization, and as a result will begin to rot and ferment, releasing

methane gas and other toxins into the body, and creating disease

instead of providing the intended nourishment for health.

Because of this improper combining of food, most Western

societies are constipated, overfed, and malnourished. As a case in


60 Vegucation Over Medication

point, the first recommendation by the United States Department of

Agriculture (USDA) for protein requirements was a whopping 125

grams per day, while today that requirement has been reduced to

about 55 grams per day.

Allow me to explain why even this reduced requirement is

overstated. The cells in our body are in a constant state of synthesis

and breakdown of the body’s proteins. The proteins that are broken

down are reduced back to their building block component amino

acids and returned to circulation. Some of these amino acids are

used to synthesize new proteins, some are used for energy, and

others are eliminated.

This continuous recycling of proteins in the body is referred

to as protein turnover.

Roughly 70%, or 200 grams, of the 300 grams of protein

synthesized in the body daily is recycled. This is why our true

biological requirement for dietary protein is so little.

In addition, the human body only loses twenty-three grams

of protein daily via perspiration, urination, hair loss, defecation, and

skin shedding. This is not even equivalent to one ounce, yet it’s
The Protein Myth 61

common dinner etiquette to eat a nine-ounce steak and call it protein

replacement.

The claims of danger related to low dietary protein are so

farfetched that I can only think of two related medical conditions

that exist, marasmus and kwashiorkor, and these conditions are

virtually non-existent in Western societies. And no studies have ever

confirmed either vegetarians or vegans contracting these conditions.

What is of massive importance is that proteins are assembled

in the body from amino acids, not from complete proteins. All

dietary protein must be digested and then broken down into its

amino acid blocks for utilization. Animal protein is dead, denatured

by cooking, and in the form of a complete protein, not an amino

acid. When we eat animal protein, our body has to break those

complete proteins down into amino acids, sift through the remaining

by-products to determine what is usable, and then safely eliminate

the remaining waste.

This is the bottom line:

 Your body does not use protein directly from food.

 Our bodies make proteins from commonly available amino

acids.
62 Vegucation Over Medication

 It does not care where these amino acids come from. The

amino acids from a lion’s heart (to use a romantic ‘warrior’

example) are exactly the same amino acids you get from

ordinary chickpeas. To your body, they’re all equally good

raw materials.

The thing to remember is that in many other ways, foods like

chickpeas don’t create the toxic by-products that animal protein

does.

The artificial synthesizing of products like creatinine and its

protein peers for bodybuilding and high protein fad diets are not

only misaligned with nature but detrimental to health. Let me assure

you; there are no shortcuts to massive muscle gains and weight loss

that are not without risks.

However, you can rest assured there are natural options to

both that are long-term in nature and can provide the same results

minus the risk.

Jim Morrison, who is a former Mr. America, Mr. USA,

Olympia, and Mr. Universe, is 71 years old and still looks primed

for competition. He’s vegan and an advocate of a plant-based

lifestyle.
The Protein Myth 63

Alex Dargatz is famous for winning the World Bodybuilding

competition in 2005 after being vegan for five years.

Billy Simmonds won Mr. Natural Universe in 2009 and also

is vegan.

Olympic medal-winning track star Carl Lewis claimed that

his best years of competing were when he first embraced a plant-

based vegan lifestyle.

Also on the list of non-meat eating notables from history are

Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, Albert

Einstein, and Steve Jobs. Not a bad list to be on. Most of the current

and past science on protein is not based on what nature

demonstrates. Around the world, when we study blue-zone

populations who live the longest with the highest quality of health,

we find a plant-based lifestyle at the center of their fountain of

youth. What we also discover is that heart disease, the number one

killer of humans, is virtually non-existent for these populations.

Animal Meat and Organ Damage


So how is our consumption of meat directly connected to

heart disease and other problems?


64 Vegucation Over Medication

Animal protein is the sole source of saturated fat, the same

type of fat that clogs arteries and leads to cardiovascular disease.

Consumption of animal protein has been shown not only to cause

heart disease but can also alter the function and structure of the

kidneys.

Chronic kidney disease now affects one out of every eight

Americans, and 25% of those affected are not even aware. The

excessive amount of protein we’re consuming puts a tremendous

amount of wear and tear on the kidneys, gradually causing the

function to decline, and in many cases leading to kidney disease that

eventually leads to the need for dialysis.

Excess animal protein increases dietary acid loads, which

cause the blood to become acidic. This will ultimately increase renal

acid excretion and ammonia production, triggering a condition

known as metabolic acidosis.

This is exactly why in practice it’s recommended to restrict

protein intake to prevent the progression of kidney disease and

stones. Restricting protein consumption is the equivalent of

removing your foot from the accelerator of a car that’s been pressed

to the max over an extended period.


The Protein Myth 65

When we compare the impact of animal protein versus plant-

based proteins, we don’t see these effects. As reported in the Journal

of Clinical Investigation, a comparable amount of plant-based

protein demonstrates almost no effect on the kidneys.

The same goes for gout patients. Many types of meats are

high purine compounds that elevate uric acid levels in the blood,

leading to a gout attack.

These patients often try to negotiate which meats to avoid,

but everything from red meat to fish can lead to a flare-up. A good

rule of thumb for overall health is animal protein of any kind will

have some level of impact on our health. To be clear, animal protein

does also include fish and dairy products. The impact of a dramatic

reduction in animal protein in one’s diet can sometimes bring instant

results. When patients with compromised kidney function are

switched to a plant-based vegan diet, we witness functional

improvement to the kidneys.

Studies have shown that animal protein can trigger an

inflammatory response in the kidneys. A 2013 meta-analysis of meat

consumption and diabetes published in Current Diabetes found that

saturated and animal fat intake is associated with elevated insulin


66 Vegucation Over Medication

levels and insulin resistance. Also, dietary cholesterol, which is

primarily found in animal protein, was indicated as a potential risk

for type 2 diabetes. Both animal protein and dairy are known to

stimulate insulin and burn out the insulin-producing beta cells in the

pancreas, which causes type 2 diabetes.

The Epic-Inter Act study “The association of dietary meat

consumption and incident of type 2 diabetes” followed 16,835

individuals that were observed for 11.7 years and found that for

every 50 grams of animal protein (which would be equivalent to a

1/4 of a chicken breast), there was an 8% increase in risk for type 2

diabetes.

Americans Eat Too Much Meat


The Western diet and those who profit from it have created

an insatiable craving for meat built on the foundation of

misinformation and propaganda. The average American consumes

200 pounds of meat and 30 pounds of cheese annually. Americans

eat more meat per person than any other people on Earth, and we’re

paying the price in health care bills. As a result, Americans are twice

as obese and have twice as much diabetes and nearly triple the
The Protein Myth 67

cancer rate compared to other countries. Americans are gorging

themselves on meat without having ever considered that 800 million

people are starving globally while we currently produce enough

food to feed 10 billion people, or that 6 million innocent animals are

killed every hour for food, or that 15 times more protein could be

produced with plants on any given area of land compared to animal

protein.

We Were Born to Be Plant Eaters


The same science we use to determine what dinosaurs ate

millions of years before human existence we chose to blatantly

ignore when it comes to determining what foods were designed for

our own biology. Paleobiologists primarily use the teeth and jaws

from fossils to determine their diet. Sharp serrated teeth and strong

jaw structures are indicative of carnivores to tear into flesh and bite

chunks out of meat. The jaw of a carnivore is typically strong

enough to break bones. The strength of the jaws can be determined

by observing how muscles were attached to bones.

Herbivores had flat, dull, rounded teeth like ours that are

exceptional for chewing and grinding plant foods. The fact that our
68 Vegucation Over Medication

jaws move side to side to assist with grinding when carnivores like

an alligator only move up and down in a snapping motion is further

proof of this.

Furthermore, a plant eater’s saliva is alkaline. Ours

specifically is amylase, and its primary function is to break down

carbohydrates and starches into their sugar by-products. This

biological design is specifically designed to eat and metabolize

plant-based foods. Below is a list of plant-based protein sources. I

included soy milk, tofu, and soya beans in an attempt not to be

biased; however, I do not recommend using these products because

all soy products contain natural anti-nutrients and phytoestrogens

that can be detrimental to your health long-term. Hemp is the most

bioavailable protein source in the world, whether it’s compared to

plant or animal-based sources. This is because hemp is biologically,

in alignment with our digestive system.


The Protein Myth 69

When we look at the physiological make-up of carnivores,

we see man contrasts. A carnivore’s saliva is acidic in nature, which

is required to break down animal protein. The stomach of a

carnivore is capable of digesting rotting flesh riddled with bacteria

without producing the faintest sign of discomfort. This is primarily

because their stomachs produce ten times the amount of

hydrochloric acid compared to ourselves and herbivores. This

creates a highly acidic environment in the stomach, perfect for

digesting proteins at a pH roughly 1−2 (highly acidic). This highly

acidic pH makes it nearly impossible for salmonella, E. coli,

parasites, worms, or other pathogens to survive during digestion.


70 Vegucation Over Medication

For humans and other herbivores, the pH ranges from 4−5.

This is why humans must cook their meats. The cooking process

denatures the large majority of the proteins, allowing for the

moderately acidic stomach to digest foods and kill some of the

bacteria and pathogens that may be present.

Let’s look further at how anatomy tells us what foods we are

made to eat. The small intestine of a carnivore or omnivore (an

animal that eats both plants and flesh) is on average 3−6 times the

length of their body torso. This anatomical design allows for rapid

elimination of acidic foods, like meat, to prevent the digested food

from rotting.

In contrast, the small intestines of herbivores are on average

10−11 times the length of the torso. So roughly that’s a small

intestine comparison of 7−10 feet for carnivores vs. 20−25 feet for

herbivores and humans.

The elimination canal or colon of carnivores is short, and its

walls are smooth. The colon for herbivores and humans is long, with

saclike pouches which make it conducive for prolonged nutrient

absorption. This physiological design is a perfect pipeline for the


The Protein Myth 71

creation of a cesspool-like internal environment when eating meat. It

increases the bowel transport time, allowing food to rot and ferment.

When Food Becomes Toxic


When food isn’t properly digested, it becomes toxic and

begins seeping into the bloodstream, poisoning the body along with

the bacteria and other pathogens it creates. Once in the bloodstream,

these toxins travel to tissues, vital organs, and joints to manifest

themselves as disease. Initially, the body will attempt to eliminate

them by the normal elimination routes and also by forming a mucus:

via the scalp, it manifests as dandruff; in the head and throat, it

becomes a cold; in the lungs, it becomes an upper or lower

respiratory tract infection; in the eyes, it becomes glaucoma; in the

pancreas, it becomes diabetes; and so on.

This mucus is acidic in nature, so any bacteria, virus, or

fungi will flourish there. Acidity and toxins tend to concentrate in

the weakest areas of the body. The longer the tissue is exposed to

this acidic environment, more of the tissue will become

degenerated.
72 Vegucation Over Medication

Let’s use our common sense for a moment to evaluate if

eating animals for muscle really makes sense. In general, people eat

cows, pigs, chickens, and fish to get the protein they need for

muscle. Don’t you find it odd that all of these animals eat a plant-

based diet, and yet magically they all have muscle? If you think

that’s circumstantial, think about this: What do gorillas, elephants,

and rhinos eat? They all eat a plant-based diet and are some of the

largest and strongest animals on the planet.

Our human DNA is 99% compatible with the chimpanzees.

This is why they are often tragically used in clinical trials and

studies to observe possible responses to drugs, chemicals, and other

stimuli to predict correlated biological response in humans. Their

primate cousins, mountain gorillas, can grow to six feet tall and

weigh up to 500 pounds. Many experts have estimated that their

strength can be up to ten times that of a human. And what does their

diet consist of (according to Sea World)? 86% leaves, shoots, and

stems; 7% roots; 3% flowers; 2% snails, ants, and grubs.

Nature proves without bias that the idea of animal protein

consumption being equivalent to muscle growth is ridiculous.


The Protein Myth 73

Making the Change to a Plant-based Lifestyle


I know that if you consume meat, all of this information

must be shocking and poking at every shred of your moral fiber, but

I can assure you I’ve experienced all the thoughts you’re thinking. Is

it really true? Do your own research—I encourage you.

But you ask:

I love meat so much; how can I live without the desirable

taste of chicken, steak, or fish?

You can, and you will, even more vibrantly once you

readjust your taste buds back to their natural settings.

What will I substitute in the place of meat?

There are more plant-based sources of protein than animal-

based proteins, and with a ton of delicious recipes to match.

Will the cravings ever go away?

Yes! Actually, you will eventually become repulsed by the

thought of eating meat.

How can I explain this decision to my family, friends, and

others?

You don’t have to explain it. Share the health benefits you

received, the impact you’re making on our planet, and the


74 Vegucation Over Medication

compassion you’re giving to the other earthlings living on this

planet. Then encourage them without judgment to try it for

themselves.

Why should I change? I enjoy eating meat, and I’m currently

healthy.

Because the meat you’re eating, and the amount you’re

eating is not the same as your grandparents, and your health today

doesn’t guarantee tomorrow without prevention.

You can do it! I believe in you because I was able to do it.

I’m the same guy who decided his reward for graduating pharmacy

school would be to go to the Steak House and have a filet mignon

anytime I wanted for the sacrifices I made, and the same guy who

ate meat during every meal of his life up until the point I decided not

to.

If you don’t see my personal evolution as inspiring enough,

then look at Howard Lyman, a former Montana cattle rancher for

four decades who sold his farm and became vegetarian in light of

health concerns. He later appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and

openly talked about the dangers of eating beef, for which he and

Oprah were sued by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.


The Protein Myth 75

Today Mr. Lyman is not only vegan but an avid animal

rights advocate and author on related subjects. He has said, “My life

experience has given me a better understanding of what is

happening, and what a mistake it is to believe, there is anything

called ‘humane’ slaughter. Animals have families and feelings, and

to think that kindness before killing them is an answer is totally

wrong. Humans have no need for animal products. And when we

consume animal products, we’re not just killing the animals. In the

long run, we’re killing the planet, and ourselves. No animal has to

die in order for me to live. And that makes me feel good."

The Impact of the Livestock Industry on the World


The single greatest infliction on health and the global

environment is the consumption of animal protein and animal

agriculture. The live stocking of animals and animal agriculture

have become the leading causes of deforestation, pollution,

rainforest destruction, greenhouse gases, species extinction, and

water consumption. The reassuring lie that fossil fuels and carbon

dioxide are our greatest threats, has been replaced by an


76 Vegucation Over Medication

inconvenient truth among staunch meat eaters and the $100 billion

service providers.

The documentary Cowspiracy exposes the global destruction

caused by factory farming and reveals the enormous lump hidden

beneath the rug by the world’s leading environmental agencies and

the animal agriculture industry. According to the Worldwatch

Institute, livestock and their byproducts account for at least 51% of

all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. One of the primary

attributors to this fact is because methane (yes, from cow farts) has a

global warming potential 86 times that of carbon dioxide and is up

to100 times more destructive in a twenty-year time frame. And these

emissions are projected to increase by 80% by the year 2050 to keep

up with our demand for animal protein and our growing population.

To put this reality into perspective, even if we completely cut

the use of fossil fuels and converted to renewal sustainable options,

we still will exceed our carbon dioxide limit by the year 2030.

This is all attributed to the live stocking of animals. These

animals and the grains grown to feed them occupy 45% of the

earth’s total land, and in the U.S., half of the land is used for animal

agriculture.
The Protein Myth 77

Suggestions like carpooling, eating less meat, and turning off

lights are meaningless acts to solve a gigantic global issue. The

collateral damage of this industry isn’t limited to our atmosphere,

but overgrazing has also desertified 1/3 of the planet and destroyed

91% of the Amazon. Folks, Amazon basin, is the equivalent of the

Earth’s lungs, producing the air you and I breathe. Every second, up

to two acres of rainforest are destroyed, and 137 plant, animal, and

insect species are lost daily.

And if you think this has gone unnoticed, just refer to the

1,100 land activists who have been killed in Brazil in protest of this

injustice in the past 20 years. One was Sister Dorothy Stang, a

missionary nun who was gunned down in Brazil for speaking out

against the cattle ranching industry in 2005.

These atrocities are not only being committed on land, but

the insult has been taken to the seas. Each year, some 100 million

tons of fish are pulled from the ocean. National Geographic

researchers say it’s possible by the year 2048 we could have a

fishless ocean.
4.
Ditch the Dairy

E
The human body has no more need for cows’ milk than it
does for dogs’ milk, horses’ milk, or giraffes’ milk.
—Michael Klaper, MD

T
he very thought of the word ‘dairy’ probably creates

picturesque mental images of cows peacefully grazing

green pastures and musclebound athletes flexing their

biceps as a representation of strong bones. This is no doubt due to

the barrage of commercials we grew up watching—like ‘Got

Milk?’—and decades of advocacy for dairy in the U.S. Department

of Agriculture’s (USDA) food pyramids. Nutritionists and

healthcare professionals corroborated these suggestions by

counseling every patient on the importance of dairy providing both

calcium and vitamin D to grow strong bones.

78 Vegucation Over Medication


Ditch the Dairy 79

The litany of commercial advertisements advocating for the

consumption of milk for the benefit of strong bones is ingrained in

the fabric of western societies.

But the questions raised by the Harvard School of Public

Health is whether we need as much calcium as recommended and if

dairy products are the best sources.

The USDA spent $550 million to convince the American

public that “Beef—It’s what’s for dinner” and “Milk does a body

good.” It has to make you wonder, What logic did we use to replace

human breast milk all together with cow’s milk?

In nature, every other mammal begins lactation (milk

production) in the mammary glands immediately after giving birth.

With the exception of humans, all other mammals are weaned off

milk after infancy. But ironically, we’ve developed a lifelong

dependency on cow’s milk. You’ll never see an ape drinking

elephant’s milk or a puppy drinking cat’s milk. Yet, for some

strange and slightly deranged reason, we find it kosher to drink

cow’s milk.

It seems almost moronic to believe that breast milk could be

swapped out as an even exchange for cow’s milk as if the two were
80 Vegucation Over Medication

the same. Cow’s milk is specifically designed to super-size an 85-

pound baby calf into a 500-pound cow in less than a year. We’re

genetically and structurally incompatible with cows, yet we’ve made

cow’s milk the elixir of life for strong bones.

Nature engineered every mammal’s milk suitable for its own

specific developmental needs. The enzymes, hormones, sugars, and

protein composition in cow’s milk are not even close to human

breast milk.

This is largely why dairy is one of the most common food

allergies. This creates an immune reaction that leads to

inflammation and mucus production. This immune response often

leads to ear infections, respiratory issues, post-nasal drip, sinusitis,

nasal congestion, rashes, hives, eczema, and digestive problems.

Take a look at these symptoms and think about how common they

are in children. Ditching dairy is my number one recommendation

for parents with children suffering from asthma and chronic ear

infections.
Ditch the Dairy 81

Casein and Whey: The Gruesome Twosome


The proteins casein and whey found in dairy are primarily

responsible for our body’s allergic reactions.

Casein is the solid portion of milk that creates curdles, while

whey makes up the remaining liquid portion. The primary difference

in how these two proteins impact our health is how they are

digested.

Whey protein is rapidly digested and absorbed into the

blood, causing a spike in insulin production and eventually insulin

growth factor (IGF-1). During childhood, IGF-1 is a critical growth

hormone for normal development, but for adults, it can cause the

production, proliferation, and metastasis of cancerous cells.

Essentially, IGF-1 is rocket fuel for cancer growth. It doesn’t matter

if you buy milk organic or raw, it will still contain these cancer-

promoting hormones.

The more predominant form of protein in milk is casein.

Casein is an insoluble protein that forms clumps that are slowly

peeled away in the stomach, causing its digestion to take up to

several hours. Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author and researcher of The

China Study, said his research concluded, “Casein, which makes up


82 Vegucation Over Medication

87% of milk protein, is the most relevant cancer promoter ever

identified.”

Both breast and cow’s milk contain casein; however, it’s 300

times more abundant in cow’s milk. The slow digestion of these

proteins in our stomachs produces morphine-like compounds called

casomorphins. The compounds are capable of stimulating the

release of histamines, which is why 75% of the world’s population

has some form of reaction to dairy. Casomorphins enter the

bloodstream, then travel to the brain and attach to opiate receptors,

producing similar effects of opioid drugs, like morphine. The same

compounds are present in human breast milk at significantly lower

concentrations and appear to have an evolutionary purpose.

According to Dr. Neal Barnard, author of The Cheese Trap and

founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, “It

appears that the opiates from mother’s milk produce a calming

effect on the infant and, in fact, may be responsible for a good

measure of the mother-infant bond. It turns out that it’s not all

lullabies and cooing. Psychological bonds always have a physical

underpinning. Like it or not, mother’s milk has a drug-like effect on

the baby’s brain that ensures that the baby will bond with Mom and
Ditch the Dairy 83

continue to nurse and get the nutrients all babies need. But like

heroin and codeine, casomorphins in cheese retard intestinal

movement and have an antidiarrheal effect. The opiate effect may be

why adults often find that cheese can be constipating and addictive,

just as opiate painkillers are.”

Why You Should Avoid Cheese


It appears that addiction is engineered even into breast milk.

However, the concentration of these morphine-like compounds in

cheese is like milk on steroids.

To make one block of cheese requires ten gallons of milk.

The majority of water and whey protein is removed from milk

during the process. What’s left behind is a concentrated block of fat

and casein protein filled with opiate compounds. This is why for

most people who’ve transitioned to a plant-based lifestyle, kicking

the cheese habit was much harder even compared to meat.

I won’t go as far to compare our addiction to cheese to the

prescription opioid crisis here in America, but I don’t think it’s a

stretch to say cheese has a devastating impact on our overall health

as a country. After all, cheese seems to be the perfect recipe for


84 Vegucation Over Medication

heart disease. It’s the number one source of saturated fat in the

American diet, has the cholesterol equivalent of a steak, and is one

of the leading sources of sodium of all foods.

What makes ditching dairy so complicated now is that it’s

not just in dairy products anymore. It’s hidden in baked goods,

candy, pizza crust, and even medications. A quick glance at the label

of products marketed as vegan or non-dairy, and you will often find

hidden dairy in the form of casein and soy lecithin. Casein can also

be found in adhesives, glues, and plastics. This is why the popular

brand Elmer’s Glue, commonly used by school children, has a cow

on the front label. Do you really want to drink or eat something that

promotes cancer and is capable of making glue in your digestive

tract?

Inside the human stomach, milk proteins coagulate and

create difficult-to-digest curdles that make a fine paste throughout

the digestive tract. This retards the absorption of nutrients and

hampers the immune system.

The nutritional value in cow’s milk is lost through the

process of pasteurization, which heats the milk at a temperature of

161 degrees Fahrenheit. This kills all nutrients and denatures many
Ditch the Dairy 85

of the proteins. This process also degrades the calcium, which

becomes far less absorbable due to it being engulfed by a casein

matrix. This is why milk is then ‘fortified’ with calcium from

synthetic sources. While synthetic sources of calcium will falsely

normalize your lab values, therapeutically you will still be deficient.

How to Get Calcium


Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, Swiss chard,

spinach, collard greens, and mustard greens are great sources of

calcium. The daily recommended requirement for calcium is based

on the average absorption of 25%. This does not take into

consideration the diet of the vegan and raw enthusiast, who will

absorb at much high rates due to a cleaner and healthier digestive

tract.

Sesame seeds are also packed with calcium. Just one

tablespoon provides 88 mg (one cup is 1,404 mg). But since the

likelihood of anyone having a cup of sesame seeds is zero to none,

tahini, a Mediterranean sesame seed paste, is an ideal source that can

be used in a variety of recipes like delicious salad dressings.


86 Vegucation Over Medication

Another alternative is adding one cup of flaxseed to a green

smoothie, salad, or collard greens, which provides 266 mg of

calcium per cup.

If your sweet tooth calls for a more intriguing option, fruits

are bursting with calcium.

So if you’re eating dark green leafy vegetables, fruits, and

seeds daily, you will never have to concern yourself with a calcium

deficiency.

Vitamin D
Ironically, vitamin D isn’t a vitamin at all but a hormone.

But because of its significance and the body’s inability to self-

synthesize this hormone, it is referred to as a fat-soluble vitamin

required from food or supplements.

Or is it?

Vitamin D is also made by the skin’s exposure to UV rays

from the sun. The plants we eat receive the same vitamin D via the

same photons. For a fair skinned person, exposing the face, hands,

and back without sunscreen for 20 minutes four times a week would
Ditch the Dairy 87

be an adequate dose for health. That’s free vitamin D, with a

priceless amount of health in exchange.

Vitamin D deficiency is linked to several chronic diseases

like cancer and cardiovascular disease. This is because vitamin D is

essential to every cell in the body.

Like calcium, it is synthetically supplemented into dairy

products. One cup of milk only has 100 international units of

vitamin D. You would have to drink 100 cups of milk daily to

prevent a deficiency. Dairy products are also highly acidic. When

we consume acidic foods like dairy, they cause our blood to become

acidic. In order to restore alkalinity in the blood, the body will begin

pulling from its alkaline reserves. The irony is, the body pulls

calcium from the bones to restore the blood pH. So, inevitably, this

mineral leaching will lead to osteoporosis because 99% of all

calcium is stored in the bones and teeth.

I know what you’re probably thinking: There’s so much

conflicting data as to whether dairy is a source of health or a

producer of disease; most people are caught in between the two like

a deer in headlights. This is why I always encourage you to do your

own research and ask better questions. Always find out who funded
88 Vegucation Over Medication

a particular study. Determine if they stand to benefit from the study.

An agency receiving funding from the dairy industry, an institution

of higher learning receiving a grant from a pharmaceutical company,

a professor at a university seeking tenure, or a policymaker who’s

been heckled and bribed by a lobbyist? The China Study, for

instance, was a partnership between Cornell University, Oxford

University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine.

The project was jointly funded by both universities and the Chinese

government. The Emperor of China was dying of cancer at the time

of the study and was seeking real answers. Does this sound like a

study you could probably trust?

There’s a dysfunctional system making a living off the

public’s misery, and to a certain degree, we’re being asked to be co-

conspirators in our own demise. Did you know that we as taxpayers

subsidize dairy products to the tune of $38 billion annually? This

subsidizes both the dairy and meat industry, as opposed to $17

million spent to subsidize fruits and vegetables. So the federal

government’s food guidelines are urging us to eat more fruits and

vegetables and reduce foods that are cholesterol-rich (which are

meat and dairy products), yet the tax funding is completely


Ditch the Dairy 89

contradictory. These subsidies include emergency supplemental

‘market loss’ payments of $1 billion to compensate dairy producers

for low prices between 1999 and 2001.

As a caveat, in 2002, Congress enacted the Milk Income

Loss Contract (MILC) program to make these compensations

permanent, which provides direct payments to dairy farmers when

the average monthly price of milk falls below standard pricing. In

the past fifteen years, only one-third of American farmers actually

received these subsidies, which were valued at $100 billion, while

the remaining two-thirds went to large corporations.

The USDA and the Beef Lobby


Our system encourages the growth of factory farms and

strangles the local farmer and surrounding community. With a name

like United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), you would

think this agency would be primarily pushing fruits and vegetables;

however, the bulk of their advertisement has always been for beef

and dairy. They are primarily financed by the meat industry and

educated by nutritional scientists who are bankrolled by the same

industry. The recommendations are not evidence-based, which can


90 Vegucation Over Medication

be easily seen today on our kids’ lunch menus. They now consider

pizza and packets of ketchup a vegetable. Do frozen processed pizza

and ketchup laden with high fructose corn syrup remotely resemble

any vegetable?

The Harvard University School of Public Health concluded,

“The USDA’s recommendations are based on out-of-date science

and influenced by people with business interests.” The USDA began

endorsing the campaign of a non-profit that promoted ‘Meatless

Monday,’ and the slogan suggested going meatless on Mondays.

The support for the campaign was posted on their July 2014 edition

of the USDA’s internal ‘Green Headquarters’ newsletter, advocating

for employees to refrain from eating meat in the cafeteria on

Mondays.

The newsletter has since been removed.

You might ask, “What would prompt the USDA to recall its

support?” Following the USDA’s support, its largest financier,

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), posted this

statement to its website: “This move by the USDA should be

condemned by anyone who believes agriculture is fundamental to

sustaining life on this planet.” The president of NCBA, J.D.


Ditch the Dairy 91

Alexander, went further to say, “When it comes to health, beef has

an amazing story to tell. Beef is a naturally nutrient-rich food

helping you get more nutrition from the calories you take in.”

One thing that’s for sure is, if beef (cow) were able to tell its

story, it would be more of a horror film than a happy ending.

Our citizens are drowning themselves in beef, chicken, pork,

and fish raised in factory farms that drench these poor animals with

antibiotics, growth hormones, and chemicals. Not to mention the

diseases manifested as a result of the poor farming conditions. This

consistent miseducation of the public with crooked science and

manipulative financial tactics, is the foundation of why America is

the most obese and sickest country in the world.

Despite having the best medical technology, America is

ranked 37th in the world’s health polls. These numbers don’t lie. But

some do like the dairy industry’s ingenious use of numbers that

often tricks you into buying a seemingly healthier product. In

calculating nutritional values for dairy products, weight is used

instead of the total number of calories. With milk, for instance, if we

used calories instead of weight, a more accurate analysis of

nutritional value is discovered. We find that whole milk is 49% fat


92 Vegucation Over Medication

(that’s half of what you drink), and that 2% milk (the proposed

‘healthier’ alternative) is 35% fat. What the heck? Nutritionally, 2%

milk is just as bad as whole milk.

Your liver naturally makes cholesterol as you sleep, which is

essentially the creation of hormones and a number of other

important functions. This cholesterol is sufficient for the body’s

needs, so all other dietary cholesterol consumed in meat, dairy, and

processed foods products in the form of saturated fats ends up

creating occluded plaque in your coronary arteries, which leads to

heart disease—the number one cause of death. The number one

killer of humans globally is poor nutritional habits that can be

prevented by embracing a plant-based lifestyle.

So ditch the dairy!


5.
The Bitter Truth About Sugar

E
Sugar feeds cancer cells and stimulates tumor growth.
Cancer cells have ten times more insulin receptors than
normal cells. —Dr. David Jockers

W
e have a bittersweet relationship with sugar. Most

of us wouldn’t disagree that sugar is bad for our

health, yet Americans consume an average of 160

pounds of added sugar every year. Let me help put that in

perspective: two hundred years ago, the annual consumption per

person was 18 pounds. Next time you’re in the grocery store, grab

18 pounds of sugar and hold it in your hand if you can just to get a

better perspective. Then imagine yourself carrying around 160

pounds up and down the aisles.

It would be a huge understatement to say Americans are in

love with sugar, and probably more appropriate to say there’s an

The Bitter Truth About Sugar 93


94 Vegucation Over Medication

obsession or borderline addiction. To some extent, we’re

programmed to want sugar; after all, glucose is the primary form of

fuel our bodies need for energy to perform the majority of our

biological functions. However, the added sugar we’re eating by the

pounds is more of a poison than a love potion.

Throughout this chapter, I’ll explain how sugar is directly

related to obesity, heart disease, cancer, lowered immunity,

metabolic syndrome, tooth decay, and how food companies have

cleverly hidden sugar in many of the foods we eat to feed our

addiction. I also explain the dark history of our deep-seated

fascination with our sweet tooth.

First, let me give you some foundation of my philosophy. I

take a holistic approach to every aspect of life, not just healing.

Instead of examining just the part of a whole to treat, like traditional

medicine does, I look at the whole to see how all the parts work in

unison so that I can see how nature heals itself. So when I hear the

word ‘sugar,’ I understand it in context, not as just a part.

In nature, sugar does not exist alone. It is always taken from

a whole. In very much the same way if I were to remove your heart
The Bitter Truth About Sugar 95

from your body, you would cease to exist, and your heart would lose

purpose and function.

When we refer to sugar as a form of nutrition, it is called

glucose. In nature, you will only find glucose as part of a

carbohydrate matrix. Glucose is produced as the by-product of

carbohydrates being broken down during digestion and is

transported in the blood to the brain, muscles, and other critical cells

to be utilized as energy. These molecules are called carbohydrates

because they contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in the same

ratio as water (H2O), which comprises roughly 75% of the earth and

our bodies.

Our Sugar Addiction


Despite this evolutionary propensity towards a sweet tooth,

humans did not develop an obsession for the taste of white sugar

until the American continents established the sugar industry via

slave trade in the Caribbean. In 1537, the first sugar refinery was

established in Germany, primarily for sugar cane. Up until the

middle of the 18th century, sugar was considered a luxury and

commonly referred to as ‘The White Gold.’ By the 1700s, the


96 Vegucation Over Medication

average person consumed four pounds of sugars annually; by the

1800s, about 18 pounds; and then in the 1900s, it spiked to 90

pounds. By the year 2009, Americans were gorging themselves on

170 pounds of sugar annually. That’s nearly 1/2 pound of sugar

daily!

This increase has been marked by similar trends in health

decline and disease. In 1660, Britain discovered that sugar was so

profitable it passed the Navigation Act of 1660 preventing transport

of sugar outside of British territories, and by 1662, they were

importing 16 million pounds of sugar. Just three years later, London

was swept by the bubonic plague, and over 68,000 people died.

In 1674, the first case of diabetes mellitus was mentioned in

the British Pharmaceutice Rationalis.

By 1792 the Anti-Saccharite Society had been formed in

Europe to educate society on the dangers of sugar to the public’s

health. In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte awarded Benjamin Delessert

with the Legion of Honor for discovering how to process beets, a

root vegetable, into sugar to replace the dependency on sugar cane,

which was the primary source of sugar coming from British colonies

in the Caribbean. Sugar cane cannot be grown in harsh weather


The Bitter Truth About Sugar 97

conditions that are prevalent in Europe because it requires a tropical

environment as compared to the beets.

By 1900, America took the lead in worldwide sugar

consumption, overtaking Britain. At the turn of the century, the top

two killers of Americans were influenza and pneumonia at number

one, and tuberculosis at number two. In 1918, between 50 and 100

million people died worldwide during the influenza pandemic,

making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history.

High Fructose Corn Syrup


Here’s another sweet moment in history. In 1970, due to the

political climate and trade restrictions in cane sugar producing

countries, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was introduced to the

US food system. It had been invented in Japan by a scientist,

Yoshiyuki Takasaki, in 1966. In an attempt to win political points

with voters, Richard Nixon instructed his secretary of agriculture to

come up with ways to make food cheaper. HFCS made its way into

the American food supply because it was cheaper and sweeter than

table sugar.
98 Vegucation Over Medication

Then in the 1980s, in response to the fat-free fad pushed by

the American Heart Association and USDA, it was added to

virtually every processed food to compensate for the removal of fat.

But everyone failed to do the necessary research to determine what

was this Franken-sugar we had decided to add to everything.

What is important for you to know is the fructose in HFCS is

nothing like glucose, the sugar your body uses for energy. It can’t

even be compared to the fructose in fruits. No form of added sugar

can be compared to sugars in whole foods. Whether added sugar is

extracted from cane or beets or created in a lab like HFCS, it always

requires chemical processing. What may be more confusing is when

we look at the sugar composition of most fruits, which is typically

42% to 50% fructose, and the remaining is glucose, while table

sugar, by comparison, is 50/50, so it appears no harm no foul

because the ratios are so similar.

But I can assure you all sugar isn’t created equal, especially

HFCS.
The Bitter Truth About Sugar 99

Dangers of Fructose in HFCS

Fructose is 7 times more likely to create AGEs (Advanced


Glycation End-Products)

Causes Weight Gain and Obesity

Elevates risk for Type-2 Diabetes

Can lead to High Blood Pressure

Elevates Bad Cholesterol

Unlike Natural Sugar, HFCS does not suppress hunger

Unlike Natural Sugar, HFCS does not stimulate insulin release

Has the same impact on the liver as alcohol abuse

HFCS leads to Mercury Exposure

HFCS is extracted from ‘dent’ corn, which is not edible

unless it goes through a refining process. This industrial food

product is far from natural. The process by which HFCS is extracted

from corn stalks is so secret that Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland

refuses to allow investigative reporters to review the process.

The word ‘high’ refers specifically to the high concentration

of fructose compared to glucose in an unbound form.


100 Vegucation Over Medication

Metabolizing Sugars
It is of importance to note that the human body metabolizes

fructose and glucose very differently. While virtually every cell in

the body can metabolize glucose, the liver cells are alone in their

capacity to metabolize fructose. This fact alone should raise a red

flag, as the liver is the primary organ for metabolizing all toxins and

poisons that enter the body. When we consume HFCS in any food,

this sugar goes undigested and rapidly enters the bloodstream.

Unbound fructose in the blood causes a huge spike in blood sugar

and insulin, which with prolonged exposure can lead to insulin

resistance and diabetes. It then travels to the liver where it stimulates

the production of triglycerides and cholesterol. This leads to a

condition known as nonalcoholic fatty liver. This was virtually

nonexistent prior to 1980 (ten years after the introduction of HFCS

to the world) but now affects 30% of all adults in developed

countries.

In addition to the increased fat deposits, excess fructose

causes elevated blood pressure, increased free radical production,

promotes fat build up around visceral organs (belly fat), and makes

the tissues insulin resistant to the uptake of glucose, causing high


The Bitter Truth About Sugar 101

blood sugars. According to a 2010 article published in the New

England Journal of Medicine, elevated insulin levels are a precursor

to cardiovascular disease.

Here’s another amazing comparison. The US Department of

Agriculture (USDA) states that between 1970 and 1990, the

consumption of HFCS increased 1,000 percent. This exponential

increase is also mirrored by a doubling in the incidence of diabetes

to the tune of 350 million since 1980, fueled by an epidemic rise in

obesity in the United States.

In the last thirty years, we’ve also seen a threefold increase

in childhood diabetes. This is catastrophic if you realize that before

1980, it was rare to find individuals under the age of thirty with

either type 1 or 2 diabetes, and now it’s becoming normal to

diagnose ten-year-olds with both type 1 and 2 diabetes.

The entire dynamic of our food culture has been stripped of

once-standard, naturally-grown foods into fast, cheap, processed

pseudo-foods. So, today, instead of children being barraged with

advertisements and commercials on a Saturday morning full of

cartoons, a countless number of sugary food products race across the

screen, manipulating your child’s desires. Each is stuffed full of


102 Vegucation Over Medication

sugary Pied Piper artificial sugars to evoke desperate begging for

their purchase. The food industry spends billions of dollars to

tantalize children's taste buds with this unnatural sugar as the secret

sauce to the crazed loyalty to their products.

HFCS isn’t limited to just food products. It just so happens

to be 40% of sugar that is added to soft drinks and the drinks that are

often called ‘juice’ but typically contain 3% or less of actual fruit

juice.

It is also inserted into white and wheat breads, cereals,

snacks that are labeled as healthy, as well as crackers, ketchup,

chips, candy bars, salad dressing, and pretty much anything that isn’t

in the produce section of the supermarket. The Institute for

Agriculture and Trade Policy, a non-profit watchdog group,

analyzed 55 of the top brand-name foods and found that one-third

contained HFCS with trace amounts of mercury. Most recently, the

corporations have underhandedly rebranded HFCS as just simply

‘fructose’ as if it were naturally occurring. This is exactly why

public policies like the Dark Act are abominable to the health of the

public. Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence and

correlation between the introduction of HFCS and the increased


The Bitter Truth About Sugar 103

prevalence of obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other illnesses, sugars in

all forms are still dramatically increasing in our food supplies.

The truth is that without the presence of natural fiber, all

forms of sugars are acidic. Excess sugar feeds disease in the body.

Whether it be diabetes or cancer. This includes some vegetables,

especially if the body is already in an acidic state. More specifically,

I’m referring to starchy vegetables like peas, carrots, corn, potatoes,

and winter squash.

When unnatural starches are broken down in the body, they

release carbonic acid in the blood. In order to maintain the body’s

critical alkaline pH, the body pulls from its alkaline reserves, like

calcium in the bones or magnesium out of the cells.

The sugars produced as by-products of starches are released

more rapidly than the sugars that result from eating fruits. This

inevitably leads to spikes in blood sugar. Excess sugars in the blood

overburden the pancreas and eventually leads to the development of

diabetes.

There are two types of diabetes, but in either case, the burden

of excess sugar/acid in the blood and resulting overproduction of


104 Vegucation Over Medication

insulin makes the blood viscous, which causes vessel and organ

damage and chronic fatigue.

These same sugary foods begin their mischief in the mouth

by causing dental cavities. As we chew these foods, they leave

behind acid residues that eat away at the enamel of our teeth. And of

course, anything strong enough to drill through teeth, one of the

hardest parts of the human body, is most certainly capable of

dissolving organs like the pancreas.

Sugar Is a Drug
Although sugar is viewed as a food, it is technically a drug

because it produces a physiological effect on the body once

ingested. This is especially the case for HFCS. Like most drugs and

toxins, HFCS can only be metabolized in the liver. When the liver

metabolizes fructose, a cascade of negative effects go into play: A

by-product called uric acid is produced, which can cause gout and

hypertension; the liver becomes insulin resistant, dyslipidemia

occurs, and ultimately all these factors can lead to cirrhosis of the

liver.
The Bitter Truth About Sugar 105

Oddly enough, fructose is capable of creating the same

illnesses as alcoholism. It can manipulate the same opioid pathways

in the brain as heroin or morphine, which leads to the addictive

behavior. Studies have shown that sugar can be up to eight times

more addictive than cocaine. All of the markers for addictions to

illicit drugs resemble the behaviors of sugar addiction.

Physiologically, the ingestion of sugar leads to the release of opioids

and dopamine, which produces the intoxicating sensation that

ultimately carries the addiction.

Many studies have demonstrated that sugar stimulates the

brain’s pleasure and reward centers. These areas are located in the

emotional centers of the brain. The dopamine release produces the

‘feel good’ vibe, and the opioids release produce the ‘stoner-like’

sensation. These same effects can be seen with nicotine, heroin, and

alcohol. The consumption of sugar also produces cravings in its

absence, bingeing in its presence, and withdrawals without

prolonged usage, just like any other drug with addictive potential.

The addiction is not an illusion, and the withdrawal symptoms can

be just as painful as eliminating nicotine or caffeine. But this

perfectly explains the sugar addiction, which has been nicely gift-
106 Vegucation Over Medication

wrapped as a harmless sweetener for pastries, candy, pasta, bread,

ice cream, and cavity-laden drinks.

Here’s an example of how this addiction turns into illness in

our real lives:

How the Holidays Help Spread the Flu


During the winter months, it’s common knowledge that

patients are always the sickest. This is most often attributed to the

change in weather that begins in early October and lasts until April.

But let’s examine how eating habits and culture play their part:

1. In late October, everyone gears up for Halloween by

purchasing grocery carts full of candy to the tune of $2

billion in sales. Kids and adults alike return home with

their sacks of ‘white gold’ and consume this acidic food

for the next week or two.

2. Roughly three weeks later, everyone is sitting at the

Thanksgiving dinner table, stuffing themselves as plump

as the turkey with slices of ham, chunks of turkey,

cranberry sauce, stuffing, green bean casserole,

macaroni, potato salad, rice, yams, soft drinks, juices,


The Bitter Truth About Sugar 107

sweet tea, pies, cakes, cookies, and other goodies. Then

that is followed up by seconds at the dinner table and

take home plates. What is interesting is that the sleepy

stupor and drunk-like state that ensues is often associated

with the tryptophan in turkey, but it’s actually our

biology shunting blood from the limbs to the abdomen,

sedating the brain into sleep to divert energy towards the

digestion of all the acidic foods you just consumed.

3. No sooner than you’re thankful for all the giving,

Christmas arrives, and you’re right back at it, with

Christmas parties at work, the in-laws, your family, and

then friends. With all the before mentioned foods, only

now with several glasses of eggnog on top.

4. Once all the presents are exchanged, and the leftovers

have run dry, New Year comes steaming around the

corner. Glasses and bottles of high-calorie alcohol are

poured on top of all of the mischievous nutritional

behavior of the past three months.

Here’s an epiphany that will knock your socks off: Why does

the infamous flu season tend to rear its ugly head the same time
108 Vegucation Over Medication

every year? You got it! There’s nothing special about the annual

strains of flu bug (by the way, the predictions of which represent

purely educated guesswork because the vaccines need to be created

at least six months before every ‘flu season’). No matter if it’s

bread, pies, cake, macaroni and cheese, potatoes, juice, or cranberry

sauce, it’s all processed sugar in the body that will create an acidic

and toxic internal environment prime for infection and disease.

What is unique about the flu season is the impact of cold

weather on our immunity, stress, and our holiday food choices. In a

lowered immune state, the body becomes susceptible to everything

from the common cold to cancer. The immune system isn’t just our

alarm system; it’s an army designed to detect and eliminate any

intruder that could compromise your health.

Sugar and Cancer


Our bodies are made of trillions of cells that are constantly

being regenerated. Some of the cells end up going rogue and

become cancerous. This isn’t just for those who develop cancer; this

holds true for everyone. Unbeknownst to you, your immune system

has natural killer cells (NK cells) to stomp out these cancerous cells
The Bitter Truth About Sugar 109

on a daily basis. These cancerous cells are marked for death,

terminated, and then engulfed so that they can be eliminated from

the body. When the immune system is compromised, these cells go

undetected, and cancer growth eventually manifests itself as disease.

There are three key components that contribute to our

immune system being compromised: toxicity, estradiol (1 of 32

estrogens), and sugar. All cancer cells, no matter where they

accumulate in the body, are the same. They all eat sugar and excrete

lactic acid. In the same way, lactic acid accumulates after vigorous

exercise in the muscles; this lactic acid will eventually make the

entire body acidic, creating a condition known as metabolic

acidosis.

Here’s where it gets dangerous. In an attempt to buffer the

acid, the body will begin pulling from alkaline reserves again. The

liver as a protective measure will start converting the lactic acid

back into sugar (glucagon). And this is how the liver becomes a

slave to the process of feeding cancer.

The evidence for this can be seen when we use positron

emission tomography scans (PET). PET scans use radioactive

tracers, typically in the form of glucose, to show the differences


110 Vegucation Over Medication

between healthy tissues and diseased tissues such as cancer. Of

course, all tissues in the body are capable of absorbing glucose, but

cancer cells use a much more significant amount of energy and thus

more glucose when compared to healthy tissues.

Our ignorance of what is and isn’t sugar is part of what’s

killing us. The saying what we don’t know can’t hurt us couldn’t be

farther from the truth. Sugar is so cleverly hidden behind the mask

of ‘healthy’ that we’re eating and drinking it by the barrels with

reckless abandon. ‘Fat-free’ is now just a synonym for ‘sugar

heavy.’ What they don’t explain is, all that excess sugar will be

converted into fat in the body. So think about that next time you’re

eating fat-free yogurt after a workout. One of the biggest lies ever

told was ‘sugar-free’ drinks like Coke Zero. If you think a sugar-free

drink is too good to be true, it’s probably because it is. I’m not

picking on Coke because, the truth is, the majority of other soda

drinks are just as horrible. But Coke makes itself an easy target.

They began promoting Diet Coke as a ‘guilt-free’ alternative in the

1980s. The drink didn’t go over well with men because they

associated the word ‘diet’ with being feminine. So, in 2005, they

reinvented the drink and gave it the new name ‘Coke Zero.’
The Bitter Truth About Sugar 111

Aspartame, the Hidden Poison


When we compare regular Coke to Coke Zero in relative

terms, it seems to be a much healthier alternative. Regular Coke

contains 44 grams of sugar, all derived from HFCS, and 140 empty

calories totally devoid of nutrients. So the idea of a soda with no

sugar and zero calories sounded like we finally could have our cake

and eat it too. But what you don’t know is, the Coca-Cola chemists

have a secret sauce: the combination of two artificial sweeteners

called aspartame and acesulfame potassium. All of the studies

performed by the food industry have shown that aspartame is safe,

whereas all independent studies have demonstrated that aspartame is

a neurotoxin capable of increasing the risk for attention deficit

disorders, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, and cancer.

Artificial sweeteners trigger the brain to produce intense

sugar cravings that lead to overeating. This probably explains why

refills are free at fast food restaurants and sodas are so cheap. What

it doesn’t explain is, why is there HFCS in the hamburger bun and

ketchup? But who are we kidding at this point they’ve laced

everything from baby formula to pasta sauce with added sugar to

tantalize our taste buds. As you debate between which of the added
112 Vegucation Over Medication

sugars are the healthiest option—agave, stevia, or brown sugar—the

truth remains:

There is no healthy version of added sugar.

Any sugar that has been extracted then adulterated can be

detrimental to your overall well-being. No, you won’t die by having

a cube of sugar in your green tea, but Americans are consuming

twenty teaspoons of added sugar on a daily basis. At some point, we

have to accept that we don’t have a sweet tooth; what we really have

is a well-masked addiction.

The Antidote to Sugar Is Fiber


When sugar, especially fructose, is not consumed in its

whole form, it can become a poison. This is why wherever you find

fructose in nature, you will also find a significant amount of fiber.

As Dr. Robert Lustig states in The Bitter Truth About Sugar, “When

God made the poison, he packaged it with an antidote.” That

antidote is fiber. This is why when sugar is removed from fiber, it

goes from being a harmless treat to a sheep in wolf’s clothing. Fiber

plays a critical role in slowly releasing natural sugars from plant-

based foods, which lowers the need for insulin and makes you feel
The Bitter Truth About Sugar 113

full. So whole natural fruits are never an issue, especially if they are

in season and are seeded.

There are over fifty different alias names for added sugar

hidden in unsuspecting foods like mayonnaise, bacon, bread, and

granola. You would be hard-pressed to find any food not in the

produce section of the grocery store that doesn’t contain added sugar

in some form. Below are some of the aliases sugar goes by:

45 Different Aliases of Added Sugar

Agave nectar Maltose Dextrose

Beet sugar Fruit Concentrate Sucrose

Blackstrap High-Fructose Corn Barley Malt


Molasses Syrup

Buttered syrup Rice Syrup Cane juice crystals

Caramel Castor sugar Brown Sugar

Carob syrup Coconut sugar Confectioner’s


sugar

Date sugar Evaporated cane Fruit juice


sugar

Golden sugar Golden syrup Grape sugar


114 Vegucation Over Medication

Honey Maple sugar Raw sugar


molasses

Turbinado sugar Corn syrup Dextrin

Glucose Fructose Maltodextrin

Lactose D-ribose Galactose

Corn syrup solids Diastatic malt Ethyl maltol

Brown rice syrup Sucanat Yellow sugar

Invert sugar Treacle sugar Muscovado sugar

Currently, the American Heart Association (AHA)

recommends that men have no more than 9 teaspoons of added sugar

daily (38 grams), women limit themselves to 6 teaspoons daily (25

grams), and children be restricted to 3−6 teaspoons (12−25 grams)

daily. We’re all consuming three times that amount, and in my

opinion, even the recommendations made by the AHA are too much

when you consider the addictive nature of added sugar and how sick

we are.

You Don’t Need to Be a Slave to Sugar!


One American family decided to conduct an experiment,

with themselves as the guinea pigs, and go sugar-free for an entire


The Bitter Truth About Sugar 115

year. The very idea of no added sugar for a day would cause most

parents to scoff at the mentioning of it because of the potential

backlash from the kids whining. But the Schaub’s took on the task,

and one year later, one of the most noticeable changes was their

taste buds had completely changed. Their cravings for sugar had

virtually disappeared. Fruits seemed to more than satisfy their sweet

tooth and became their primary desserts. Their palates had become

so sensitive to sugar that most of the sweet treats they previously

enjoyed were now repulsive. Their entire family had more energy,

got sick less, and the kids missed significantly fewer school days.

My suggestion is to try it for 30 days. You’ll be amazed!


6.
Seeds of Deception

E
Then God said, I give you every seed bearing plant on the
face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed
in it. They will be yours for food. —Genesis 1:29

T
here are seeds of deception carefully woven into the

very same scientific community that has been deemed

responsible for providing the public with information

critical to health and well-being. For every study, peer-reviewed

journal, expert opinion, or agency dismissing buying organic, going

vegan, or boycotting genetically modified organisms (GMOs), there

seems to be an equal number in opposition. It leaves us all confused

and not knowing who to trust, so the majority of people end up

aligning with what is comfortable and most palatable instead of

doing the research for themselves and tapping into their own

common sense.

116 Vegucation Over Medication


Seeds of Deception 117

The medical community, in particular, spends too much time

philosophizing and defining diseases instead of determining the root

cause of the affliction. So, despite being the pink elephant in the

room, the cause progressively enlarges itself in the shadows.

Riddle me this: What is the use of defining why water is wet

if you never take a sip and then die from dehydration?

Or better yet, what purpose does it serve to observe the

progressive degeneration of a patient with diabetes as they lose a

limb, go blind, have an ischemic stroke, compromise their kidney

function to the point of dialysis, and then die of heart attack without

ever recommending they remove the foods that caused the condition

to begin with?

Our arrogance and willingness to maintain our blissful

addiction to poor food choices makes us underestimate the true

value of health and our magnificent ability to self-heal. Most of us

maintain our bodies in the same way we maintain our cars, with the

least amount of maintenance necessary. We would quickly change

our entire perspective if we only knew half of the capabilities of the

majestic machinery we call our body. Our skin is intelligent enough

to determine the sensation of hot and cold without the necessity to


118 Vegucation Over Medication

actually touch anything; our middle ear can detect the body losing

equilibrium; objects can be picked up out of our peripheral vision

while maintaining our direct line of sight in order to perceive that

which we are not consciously aware of; our immune system can

immediately detect anything that is foreign to our body and quickly

mount a response.

And yet somehow we’ve lost the common sense to determine

what foods are poisons and which foods are nurturing.

No animal in nature is told what to eat. Not even a newborn

is confused about what its natural food is, as it begins suckling at the

onset of hunger when the mother is lactating, and her breast is near.

Maybe there is an innate instinct in infants that we lose as adults.

Infants and animals seem to understand that the food from nature

will provide nourishment, immune maturation, development of vital

organs, and aid in colonizing the intestinal tract with healthy

bacteria.

It’s time we redefine food by removing bias opinion and

man-made contortions from the ingredient labels. True food comes

from and is grown alone in nature without the need for human

intervention. Once created, it never again needed God’s divine hand


Seeds of Deception 119

because of its eternal growing cycle: a seed is fertilized by the earth,

a sprout is formed, a tree grows toward the sun, the tree blossoms

with fruit, the fruit ripens to be dispersed around the earth and eaten

by living things, or falls to the ground to nourish the earth or

animals who cannot climb.

The Invention of Hybrid Foods


The Industrial Revolution caused people to evolve away

from what seemed to be a perfect sustainer of both man and animal.

In the mid-1930s, people began mass producing hybrid fruits and

plants. Today, more than 90% of the food available in supermarkets

is hybrid in nature. These modern hybrid foods are higher in starch

and fructose, which as I mentioned is several times sweeter than

glucose and causes damage to both the liver and pancreas. This is

why many of today’s fruits are much sweeter than those grown in

nature and have no seeds. The second generation of hybrid offspring

are sterile and will not germinate. These hybrid foods are not

consistent with nature’s perpetual seed.

Here is a direct quote from Genesis 1:29: “Behold I have

given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the
120 Vegucation Over Medication

earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of the tree yielding

seed; to you it shall be for meat.”

In plain language, this means that all of our food has been

provided in the form of herbs (plant-based foods) that come from a

seed and bear a seed; and every tree will produce fruit, and in that

fruit shall be a seed, and that fruit can be used for food. The word

‘fruit’ not only includes what we traditionally view as fruits but

ancient grains like quinoa, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados, kale,

Swiss chard, and basil.

The vast majority of food sold by the food industry isn’t food

at all but an experiment with nature’s handiwork. The purpose of

this experiment was to aid farmers in producing crops on farmlands

on which natural foods would not grow. The inability to grow

naturally should have been a cautionary sign that this was not the

breakthrough idea it appeared to be.

Hybrid foods are created by cross-pollinating two different

species of plants. What is of importance to note is that 90% of these

hybrid foods do not naturally occur and will not grow without

human intervention and protection. Most are seedless and will not

reproduce in the second generation, have lower nutritional values,


Seeds of Deception 121

are extremely imbalanced in vitamin and mineral ratios, and their

resultant sugars are not recognized by the digestive system, liver, or

pancreas.

The wheat grain we eat today, for instance, was created by

the same hybridization method in an attempt to produce larger crops

so it could be farmed irrespective of its geographic region. The

original grain was not starch based, but cross-breeding has changed

the genetics of the plant.

In addition to the modification in genetics, hybrid plants

become unnaturally high in starch and sugar. Starch of any kind is

metabolized into carbonic acid in the body, which in excess can lead

to an acidic biology that creates the perfect environment for disease

to flourish.

The combination of starch with modified sugars produces a

high glycemic spike that triggers the release of harmful blood

concentrations of insulin. This deadly combo is a major risk factor

for the development of heart disease and diabetes, which is why for

diabetics, one of my first recommendations is to avoid certain

starches and all hybrid fruits.


122 Vegucation Over Medication

The sugars from starches are released by the liver much

more rapidly than the sugars in green leafy vegetable and natural

fruits. When these starches are cooked, the sugars become

concentrated and become a major contributor towards obesity.

Hybrid Plants that Pose as Healthy but Are Hazardous


If you must consume starchy vegetables or grains, then

consume them sparingly, uncooked or sprouted with a healthy fat

like an avocado that will prolong the digestion of the sugars and

reduce the glycemic spike. They should be used sparingly because

these hybrid Franken-foods do not assimilate into the body

completely and are stored as toxins, damaging the mucous

membrane, and the sugars feed the fungus candida in your body.

Some of these hybrid plants have been packaged and sold as

nature’s handiwork, but they are poor imitations of the natural

healing foods originally designed by nature.

Some of the following foods on the list will shock you:

seedless apples, seedless pineapples, seedless citrus fruit, seedless

grapes and watermelon, beets, carrots, corn, certain potatoes, celery,

broccoli, cauliflower, cashews, wheat grass, soy, aloe vera, white


Seeds of Deception 123

and brown rice, oats, several legumes, many bean varieties,

echinacea, comfrey, garlic, ginseng, and goldenseal.

I can imagine you tossing this book at this point in

frustration, so let me further explain why some of the listed hybrids

that have been promoted as healthy are quite the opposite.

Rice
According to a 2012 report by Consumer Reports, rice eaten

daily increases concentrations of arsenic in the body by 44%; a

second bowl of rice increases it by 70%. These numbers were

validated by FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg. Over 60 rice

products were examined. Some of the products contained five times

the concentrations found in oatmeal and 1.5 times the

Environmental Protection Agency’s legal standard for drinking

water. Brown rice typically contained 80% more inorganic arsenic

(the harmful version) than its white counterpart.

Arsenic is introduced into the grains via the use of pesticides

and poultry fertilizer. The chemical is absorbed on the outer shell of

the grain, and because brown rice retains its outer shell, it retains a

significantly higher concentration of arsenic.


124 Vegucation Over Medication

Eating rice, which again is a starch, creates a chemical

mixture of carbonic acid and arsenic. This chemical mixture

produces a glycemic spike (dangerous for diabetics) and

compromises the mucous membrane.

Corn
Modern corn, unlike ancient black corn, is one of the most
hybridized plants in the world. The hybridized version depletes the
soil of vital minerals and microorganisms, making the land
impossible to be farmed in the future. Over 58% of the land in
America is being used to produce crops like corn to feed livestock,
which explains why the fertile Midwestern plains have been
converted into a virtual dust bowl in less than 100 years. Today’s
Franken-corn is larger, sweeter, and more yellow and white
compared to its ancient ancestor.

Garlic
Garlic is touted not only by natural healers; traditional medicine
also commonly make recommendations for patients to use garlic.
Garlic, however, is highly acidic. On the food chart, garlic registers
at a whopping pH of 3.3, almost equivalent to battery acid. Due to
an oxide allyl compound it contains, it weakens the cell and vessel
membranes, which produces the artificial reduction in blood
pressure. Not by any means will it kill you in small doses, but it’s
important to understand both the good and bad aspects of garlic’s
biochemistry.
Seeds of Deception 125

Carrots
Carrots and carrot juice are often regarded as beneficial for

eyesight. But in a society where the blind lead the blind, most health

care practitioners are just as unhealthy and unknowledgeable as

patients when it comes to nutritional medicine.

It is well known that carrots are highly starch based, but this

undesirable trait is often overshadowed by its high concentration of

beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is a potent antioxidant designed by

nature to eliminate free radicals that lead to aging and cancer.

The modern carrot is a hybrid cross between Queen Anne’s

Lace and the wild yam. This vegetable was hybridized in Holland

and should be eaten sparingly if at all.

The take-home point about hybrid foods is that

commercialized hybrid foods create starch-based products that are

imbalanced nutritionally. Although there have been foods that have

hybridized through a natural process in nature, these foods were

hybridized over the course of thousands of years, which allowed

nature to make natural adjustments for adaptation. The hybrid foods

being produced today are a knock-off version of nature’s healing

foods.
126 Vegucation Over Medication

Soy
On the other hand, soy isn’t necessarily a hybrid, but I could

write a book on the dangers of soy alone. There’s actually a great

book that I suggest you read called The Whole Soy Story, by Kaayla

T. Daniel. Soy products, like tempeh, tofu, and all meat and dairy

mimicking products, often become the rebound lovers of those who

abstain from meat.

Unfortunately, soy is a starch that produces sulfide in the

body. This sulfide depletes the body of both iron and oxygen.

The brilliant scientist George Washington Carver was hired

by Henry Ford to determine what uses could be derived from the

soybean. In his genius, he was able to make rubber, ink, paint, glue,

plastic, glass, and many other products. George Washington Carver,

‘the father of the peanut,’ was by profession a botanist and said the

soybean should not be eaten.

Prior to the 1960s, not even ranchers would feed soybeans to

their animals because it was well known to be a toxic plant.

Enter Dwayne Andreas in 1971 as the new CEO of Archer

Daniels Midland (ADM), the American global food processing and

commodities trading corporation. Andreas had made a name for


Seeds of Deception 127

himself previously at Cargill, related to vegetable oil. After teaming

up with ADM, he traveled the world in the 1970s and 1980s,

meeting with every major political leader from Castro to Gorbachev,

convincing them to adopt soybean oil as their primary oil of

consumption. His cunning persuasion and willingness to compensate

politicians who had parallel agendas earned him the nicknames

‘Soybean King’ and ‘Deep Pockets.’ By the 1990s, he had taken

soy, which was not considered safe for human consumption, and put

it in virtually every food product known to man. By the time he

retired, he had increased ADM soybean exports from $1.5 billion to

$7 billion.

Did I mention that 94% of all soy made in America is

genetically modified?

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)


Beyond hybrids, what is of more cause for concern to the

health of the world’s citizens and the earth itself are genetically

modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs foods are created through a

laboratory process in which genes are extracted from one species,

and through an artificial process, these genes are forced into a


128 Vegucation Over Medication

random position on the DNA sequence of an unrelated plant or

animal. The offspring of this laboratory experiment is called a

transgenic organism.

It’s estimated that 70% of all processed foods today contain

at least one GMO. An even more astounding factoid is, the SAD diet

consists of roughly 69% of processed foods.

The majority of the tomatoes that Americans enjoy are the

result of extracting a gene from the Arctic flounder fish that allows

it to sustain freezing temperatures, and inserting that gene into a

tomato which nature only allows to grow in summer. Now you can

have tomatoes that can be easily grown during winter. If this appears

to be an added advantage instead of a shocking undertaking, allow

me to explain two things:

In nature, genes are only transferred to like species that can

produce offspring and have similar genetic coding. In other words,

in nature, a tomato and an Arctic flounder could never mate and

reproduce. As a result of the random insertion and the newly formed

transgenic species, the possibility for mutations becomes

astronomical. These mutations result in the manifestation of disease,

allergies, deformity, and many potentially harmful effects. Every


Seeds of Deception 129

single independent study conducted on the impact of genetically

modified foods has concluded these transgenic foods damage

organs, lead to infertility and immune system failure, and perforate

the gastrointestinal tract.

The FDA’s Cozy Relationship with Food Companies


During the first Bush Administration, the White House

instructed the leadership at the FDA to create room for

biotechnology food companies. So, in 1991, the attorney for

Monsanto, Michael Taylor, was appointed the Deputy

Commissioner for Policy at the FDA. Monsanto is the same

chemical company that assured the general public that

polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Agent Orange, and DDT were

safe, which we all know now couldn’t be the furthest thing from the

truth.

Once Michael Taylor was appointed, his role in

implementing favorable GMO policy was done with a revolving

door approach. He later went back to Monsanto, where he was

promoted to vice president for public policy in 1998, before rotating


130 Vegucation Over Medication

back into the FDA and becoming the senior advisor to the FDA

Commissioner in 2009.

In 2010, Mr. Taylor was named Deputy Commissioner for

Foods at the FDA by the Obama Administration. He is the first

individual to hold the position, which was created with a new Office

of Foods in August 2009. I invite you to do a quick Google search

on him referencing the FDA and Monsanto to verify this

information. He is currently still in this position. The irony is that he

was in charge of policy at the FDA when GMO policies were

initiated and under the Obama administration, which made him

‘King of All Things Food.’ This occurred while the overwhelming

consensus among scientist at the FDA considered GMOs to be

dangerous and would lead to allergies, toxins, new diseases, and

nutritional deficiencies. Unfortunately, all the research was met with

backlash, and many of the scientists were fired and discredited.

From the first Bush administration up until the Obama

administration, chemical companies that produce GM foods,

including DuPont, Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow chemicals, and Bayer,

have fought to suppress evidence, infiltrated our government

agencies, and rewritten laws and policies regarding the food we eat
Seeds of Deception 131

that violate our constitutional rights. For this reason, it is almost

impossible to pass legislation against GM foods because many of

the government officials involved with creating and passing new

legislation on food policy have become entangled in a web of

conflicted interest.

The Suppression of the Pusztai Studies


These struggles have not been specific to America. In the

early 1990s, Arpad Pusztai, Ph.D., a plant biochemist of Rowett

Research Institute (the top nutritional research lab in the UK) was

given three million euros by the UK government to determine the

health benefits vs. risk of GM foods for human consumption. His

findings and recommendations were to be used as protocols for all

of Europe. He conducted experiments using lab mice, giving one

group GM potato; another group received organic potatoes; and the

third organic potatoes covered in Roundup Ready pesticide. Within

ten days, the mice that consumed the GM potatoes experienced pre-

cancerous cell growth, smaller brains, livers, and testicles, partial

atrophy of the liver, and damaged immune systems. Only the mice

group that ate the GM potatoes got sick.


132 Vegucation Over Medication

Here is a direct quote from the study: “From the results, the

conclusion seems inescapable that the present crude method of

genetic modification has not delivered GM crops that are predictably

safe and wholesome.”

With the permission of his director, Pusztai then set up TV

interviews to report his findings. For a few short days, he was

celebrated, until there was a call from the pro-GMO prime minister

to the director of the Rowett Institute. Pusztai, an author of 300

articles and 12 books, an expert in the field of botany and nutrition,

and a 35-year career with Rowett Institute, was quickly fired,

silenced with threats of a lawsuit, and his career smeared by the

Rowett Institute, the UK government, and the biotech industry. It

wasn’t until his gag order was lifted by Parliament that he was

allowed to publish his findings in The Lancet journal.

However, this set a precedent for scientists around the world

for what would happen if their scientific findings contradicted the

interests of the biotech industry.

In 1999, citing the lack of safety data associated with eating

GM foods, molecular biologist Gilles-Eric Seralini co-founded the


Seeds of Deception 133

Committee of Research and Independent Information on Genetic

Engineering (CRIIGEN).

Monsanto’s Roundup
GM crops are sprayed with the chemically engineered

herbicide Roundup. The active ingredient in Roundup is glyphosate,

which was patented in 1970 as a broadband spectrum chelator. In

the soil, this chemical binds to many of the minerals needed by the

offending plant, preventing their absorption. It also destroys

microorganisms in the soil that provide nutrient to the plant and

promotes organisms that will kill natural plants. Since 2007,

Roundup herbicide is the most predominantly used herbicide in the

United States agricultural sector and second most in home and

gardening.

GM crops need to be genetically engineered to be tolerant to

Roundup. Most recently, in 2015, based on epidemiological studies,

the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research

on Cancer listed glyphosate as a category 2A carcinogenic in

humans. It’s important to note that this chemical herbicide is


134 Vegucation Over Medication

absorbed into the foliage and transferred to the growing points of the

plants, so merely washing the crops does not remove the herbicide.

Much of the livestock that is used for meat consumption is

fed nutrient-deficient Roundup-ready crops, particularly soybeans

and corn—neither of which is the natural food of a cow, chicken or

pig. In the United States, factory farms raise 99% of all chicken,

99% of all turkeys, 97% of all hens, 95% of all pigs, and 78% of all

cows that end up in the meat case at your local supermarket. These

animals are treated brutally, stacked upon each other by the

thousands, infested with disease, and grow so quickly that many are

incapable of walking.

For those who aren’t vegan or vegetarian, I would encourage

you to watch documentaries like Food, Inc., Forks Over Knives, or

Food Matters to get a first-hand view of what we’re feeding

ourselves and our children.

We can naturally assume that if the genes of plant and

animals are being altered, our genes will also be altered as result of

direct consumption of these Franken-foods because we really do

become what we eat.


Seeds of Deception 135

How GMO Foods Are Patented


Today GM foods are flooding American supermarkets. The

USDA has approved corn, soybeans, tomatoes, potatoes, alfalfa,

rice, papaya, beets, squash, apples, and many more. Most recently,

the FDA slipped GM salmon into our food supply as the first animal

product for consumption, without any extensive or peer-reviewed

studies. This transgenic food, labeled AquAdvantage salmon, was

created by taking the genes from the king salmon and using the

promoter gene from an eel (ocean pout). The ocean pout grows and

survives in freezing waters. The salmon, by contrast, typically stops

reproducing during the colder months.

Unlike plants, Franken-animals do not require FDA

approval!

Think about that for a moment.

You are the Food and Drug Administration, which functions

solely for regulating and ensuring the food and drugs the public

consumes are safe. Yet foods are being engineered in a lab and then

doused with chemical pesticides, and the FDA has yet to require one

human or animal study on the health effects of consuming these

Franken-foods. Both the FDA and GM food companies like


136 Vegucation Over Medication

Monsanto maintain that these foods are equivalent to naturally

organic foods; however, the word ‘modified’ in genetically modified

foods clearly indicates that these foods are not the same by

definition. Furthermore, according to the FDA, nothing designed

implicitly by nature, such as ‘food’ in this case, can be patented. No

farmer could, for instance, pluck an apple from a tree and request a

patent from the Patent Office. So companies like Monsanto, Bayer,

Syngenta, Dow, and DuPont, which all by origin are chemical

companies that now are in the business of making genetically

modified foods, found a loophole to claim a copyright on their

adaptation of nature’s design.

On the one hand, these companies tell the FDA that GM

foods are no different than conventional or organic crops and require

no special testing.

At the same time, in order to receive a patent, they’ve

convinced the U.S. Patent Office that GM foods are unique and

nothing like natural plants.

Currently, the FDA’s safety requirement for everyone on the

farm table continuum is a self-monitoring program that encourages

producers of new ‘foods’ and food ingredients to ‘consult’ with the


Seeds of Deception 137

FDA when there is a question about an ingredient’s regulatory

status. The Plant Biotechnology Program, which was created in the

1990s, works directly with genetically engineered (GE) plant

developers as a monitoring system, which is completely voluntary

on the part of the GE plant developer. So the chemical companies

themselves are legally obligated to monitor themselves and ensure

the safety of food products they bring to the market.

All this information can be validated on the FDA’s website.

Research Studies on GMO Foods


The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has been

a critic of food companies and their usage of unhealthy chemical

ingredients, has not opposed GM foods on the grounds there is no

evidence they are harmful. However, there are independent studies

that show irrefutable data of the harmful effects of GM foods.

In 2012, the French published the first lifetime feeding study

in the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology that

evaluated the health risks of genetically engineered foods. This

study was conducted over a two-year period, which is the typical

lifespan of mice. These animals were fed a diet of 11−33% GM


138 Vegucation Over Medication

Roundup-tolerant corn cultivated both with and without Roundup

and Roundup alone (from 0.1 pp. in water; the level permitted in US

drinking water and GM crops).

The control group that was fed non-GMO corn had a death

rate of 20% for females and 30% for males as compared to the GM

corn fed mice that had a death rate of 70% for females and 50% in

males. Even the animals fed with low-dose portions of GM corn

died prematurely. The first females to die did so less than a year

after starting the GM corn diet and developed huge breast tumors.

The females at 21 months fed GM corn had a death rate that was six

times that of the control group.

Interestingly enough, the majority of tumors appeared after

18 months, well beyond the 90-day limit for food safety testing set

by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the FDA. The earliest

a tumor was discovered was at four months, again beyond the

standardized testing window.

Furthermore, the GMO-fed group experienced damage to

their organs and immune system.

When correlated to human years, we would expect these

detrimental effects to begin appearing as early as 18 years old, with


Seeds of Deception 139

the majority of the effects occurring around year thirty. Despite the

fact that the origins of GMOs appeared in the early 1990s, we have

only been consuming these products for roughly 16 years (far too

long in my opinion). In that time, we’ve seen the same exponential

increase in cancer and damage to organs in humans that was

experienced during the long-term feeding study.

The World Health Organization has estimated that annual

cancer cases will rise from 14 million in 2012 to 22 million within

the next two decades.

Congress Sides with GMO Producers


Most recently, in 2015, the US House of Representatives

passed legislation by a vote of 275-150 in favor of H.R. 1599, a bill

that bans states and local authorities from labeling or regulating

genetically engineered foods. The bill codifies a voluntary labeling

system for the food industry but prohibits the FDA from ever

implementing GMO labeling! It also allows food companies to make

misleading claims such as ‘all natural’ for genetically engineered

ingredients.
140 Vegucation Over Medication

Public polls have consistently demonstrated that 9 out of 10

Americans want these products to be properly labeled if GMO

ingredients are present. This is a blatant infringement on the rights

of citizens, state, and local authority. American citizens deserve the

same rights as the other 64 countries that require GMO labeling. The

world’s largest country by land area, Russia, created a national

research project that determined that “As far as genetically modified

organisms are concerned, we have made the decision not to use any

GMOs in food productions,” according to Prime Minister Arkady

Dorkovich.

In Its Darkest Hour, Haiti Rejected Monsanto’s GMO


Foods
And if that wasn’t enough proof, consider this: In 2010, the

entire nation of Haiti was rocked by a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude

earthquake. The nation was in complete devastation, with many of

its citizens killed on impact and some still trapped beneath the

rubble of collapsed buildings. They pleaded for help from every

nation worldwide. In response, Monsanto sent 475 tons of GMO

corn and vegetable seed. Although there were no laws regulating the

use of GMOs in Haiti, the Ministry of Agriculture took a strong


Seeds of Deception 141

stance during one of the country’s weakest moments and rejected

Monsanto’s donation.

Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, leader of a group of Haitian

farmers called The Peasant Movement of Papay, referred to the

donation as a ‘new earthquake.’

In an interview, Jean-Baptiste said, “Fighting hybrid and

GMO seeds is critical to saving our diversity and agriculture. We

have the potential to make our lands produce enough to feed the

whole population and even to export certain products. The policy we

need for this to happen is food sovereignty, where the county has the

right to define its own agricultural policies, to grow first for the

family and then for the local market, to grow healthy food in a way

which respects the environment and Mother Nature.”

The farmers understood that if they accepted the seeds, they

would no longer be able to reuse natural seeds that had been in the

families for generations, the farmland would be ruined, and they

would become lifelong servant-customers to Monsanto because only

their seeds would grow there after using GMO crops. So, in a

remarkable display of unity and protest, 10,000 Haitian farmers

gathered to burn the 475 tons of GMO seeds sent by Monsanto.


7.
You Are What You Eat

E
Eat to live, not to Die. —Dr. Sebi (Alfredo Darrington
Bowman)

T
his next concept is critically important to you

understanding the connection between nutrition and

disease. Once you are able to fully comprehend this,

you’ll become what I’d like to refer to as a ‘conscious eater.’ Each

time you grab a bite to eat, you will be able to easily decipher

whether the food is a producer of health, energy, healing or

promoter of death.

So let’s begin.

We must redefine what is ‘food.’ There are so many things

that are passed off as food it makes shopping for real food a

challenge. Walking into a modern supermarket gives you the notion

142 Vegucation Over Medication


You Are What You Eat 143

that there are thousands of choices to consider for your dining

pleasure. However, the produce section is the only section that

would constitute ‘true food,’ and even many of those choices are

quickly becoming questionable. So there is no such thing as ‘junk

food’; there’s junk, and then there is food, simply put. Too many of

us are eating with the purpose of satisfying our taste buds without

ever considering food as fuel, nourisher, cleanser, healer, connection

to nature, and the source of what you and I are made of.

The old adage “You are what you eat” is literally true,

meaning the food you eat becomes the body you are made of.

Metaphorically, once any non-living thing is created, such as a

house, it does not grow; it has become its potential unless an

external force such as yourself makes a modification. However,

living things are not bound by this constraint. While we as humans

may be born weighing just eight pounds, the body through divine

sorcery uses nutrition to grow you into seven-foot, 325-pound

Shaquille O’Neal.

The human body also has magical regenerative powers to

replace the cells lining the stomach and colon every four or five

days, the entire skin in 28 days, a large portion of your liver in six
144 Vegucation Over Medication

months, and your skeletal system every ten years. Your body

generates the cells that become your new liver, skin, and bone

directly from the foods you eat. Old cells die by a process known as

‘apoptosis,’ and new cells are generated from the foods you eat. So,

if you eat processed, refined, genetically modified, hybrid, or

Franken-foods, then it makes sense that you will become

overweight, disease-ridden, and lethargic. Whereas if you eat vital

live whole plant-based foods, you will be filled with youthful vigor

and appearance and have an overall sense of well-being.

The Life Energy of Living Foods


Live foods transfer their life force energy into you as a result of
eating and metabolizing them. This is simply the First Law of
Thermodynamics in motion; energy is neither created nor destroyed
but simply transferred. Dead animal flesh, processed, refined,
hybrid, and genetically modified foods have little to no life force
energy to transfer. In addition, these foods carry a toxic load that
eventually stimulates and perpetuates disease.
New technology using Kirlian photography provides a unique
visual of the unseen energy fields present in any organic material,
such as plants. Kirlian technology uses 50,000 volts and a broad
range of frequencies that transverse through biological systems (in
You Are What You Eat 145

this case foods) and magnifies the energy fields present, producing a
visual image.

The light you see being emitted from these plants are bio-

photons, which contain essential information communicated from

divine nature to transfer nutrition, intracellular consciousness,

evolution, growth, and healing. The information is transferred

wirelessly, like texting or calling from a cellphone, through thin air

from the sun into the plants we eat.

This should be no surprise at all, considering all technology

is based on nature, but these photos show why it’s so critically

important to eat living foods. Kirlian photographs demonstrate that

raw organic foods display the highest energy levels versus the

cooked and processed foods that give off a dull vibratory signature.
146 Vegucation Over Medication

The Human Body is Electric


Our bodies run on electricity in the same fashion as any

electrical appliance, using an electrochemical gradient of ions, such

as the sodium/potassium pump, to synthesize ATP (energy). This

energy is consistent with life, and we see, for example, when a

patient’s heart stops beating, medically we respond by using

electricity via a defibrillator to reestablish a sinus rhythm in the

heart. (It is referred to as a sinus rhythm because the electrical

impulse originates at the sinus node located in the right atrium of the

heart.) This electricity flows through your entire nervous system,

sending electrical impulses to your brain to propagate thought, to

your heart to produce a heartbeat, and down your spine and into

your muscles to produce contraction and relaxation.

Your body does this very much like an alkaline battery.

Much like the battery, we also use alkaline electrolytes to forge

needed chemical reactions, but also to buffer acidic foods we eat.

When the burden becomes too great because of prolonged neglect

and abuse, we deplete our electrolyte/alkaline reserves, which sets

the stage for disease to manifest itself in an acidic internal

environment. Dr. Otto Warburg, winner of the 1931 Nobel Prize in


You Are What You Eat 147

physiology, stated, “No disease, including cancer, can exist in an

alkaline environment, and every single person who has cancer has a

pH that is too acidic.”

Let’s review how foods make an impact on biology.

You Are What You Eat—and Drink


Our brains are metabolically active for roughly 12 hours a

day, and the brain is roughly 75% water. The primary method of

removing metabolic waste from the brain is via proper hydration.

Begin your day with water as soon as you rise; drink water before

showers, prior to meals, during exercising, between meals, and

before going to bed.

You should religiously avoid dehydrating foods and

beverages like coffee, soda, caffeinated teas, sugary foods, and

processed grains. Coffee also depletes the body of the ‘happy

molecule’ serotonin, especially when taken on an empty stomach,

which can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression. Our short-term

decision of what we eat and drink can make us happy, but the

consequences of those decisions can make us sad.


148 Vegucation Over Medication

Outside of personal relationships, our most intimate

connection is what we eat and drink. We crave it, we celebrate with

it, it nourishes us, and it cures our loneliness when no one else is

there. Plants respond in the same way to nourishment. It’s been

scientifically proven that when gardeners play soothing music or

even talk to plants and say “I love you,” they grow stronger.

Food is one of our primary methods of self-love. And how

do we define ‘love’? We define love as an incredibly powerful and

passionate interest or pleasure in someone or something. It is not

defined as an adjective but a verb and a state of being. So the

proverbial question, “Do you love me?” can be more accurately

assessed by simply observing one’s actions.

The more important question is, “Do you love yourself?”

If so, are your actions and state of being in alignment with

love?

Are your thoughts positive?

Are you eating and drinking foods to produce a healthy body

and mind, or are you just feeding your desires to death?

Choosing to go with the status SAD diet is not an act of

love. With every nutritional choice you make, whether it be


You Are What You Eat 149

conscious or subconscious, you are either making a choice to live or

a choice to dig an early grave with your fork and knife.

These choices often have a physical and emotional

foundation, but there is also a spiritual component.

Food and the Spirit


Our addiction to food and overeating is often an attempt to

provide ourselves with self-love. In eastern cultures, this behavior

can be traced back to an imbalance in one of our energy centers in

the body called chakras. Overeating is often connected to the lowest

energy system called the root chakra. This chakra is related to your

physical body’s need for survival, stability, and our relationship with

our mother. The chakra is located at the base of your spine, and

hence it’s also referred to as the ground chakra. It establishes the

deepest connection with your physical body, your surroundings, and

the earth itself. Because of the deep connection to your physical

body, it is also very much connected to your physical health. Its

priorities are air, water, food, shelter, empowerment, and stability.

Poor nutritional habits send a subconscious message to your

entire being that says, “You are not valuable enough to take the time
150 Vegucation Over Medication

and effort to properly nourish your body with healthy foods.”

Changing your relationship with food creates a sense of trust,

security, and connectedness between the mind and body. It tells the

body, “I respect you for housing my mind and soul in your sacred

temple.” The body tells the mind, “I honor and trust you for spiritual

growth and survival.”

Interestingly enough, your arms and hands, which extend

from your heart (love) chakra, manifest the physical love you create

in life, such as gardening, building a home, caressing a child,

painting a Picasso, or cooking. During the process of food

preparation, you are also infusing loving energy into the food via

your hands from your heart. This energy is transferred only from

one organic substance to another, and when living foods are eaten,

you receive a burst of energy from the exchange.

As Ann Wigmore, author of The Hippocrates Diet and

Program, so elegantly stated, “The food you eat can be either the

safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of

poison.” Only foods powered by the sun and nurtured by earth are

capable of producing a healing effect on our bodies. So the reality of


You Are What You Eat 151

today’s society is that we are not eating real foods; we are ingesting

processed and genetically modified foods sprayed with chemicals.

Beyond food choice, most people have forfeited all of their

rights to self-heal and have handed over proper prevention in

exchange for drugs. Our well-being has been put in the hands of

healthcare professionals who have been educated and trained with

the same philosophies of the very system that is poisoning us.

There’s Profit in Chronic Illness


I’ll be the first to say that 99% of healthcare professionals

have your best interest at heart and have chosen their profession in

an attempt to be caretakers of the sick and needy. However, the sad

truth is that the textbooks, university studies, curriculum, drug trials,

and continuing education are all funded in large majority by the

same companies that profit off your misery and ignorance. Here’s

the sad truth: There is no money in curing diseases, but there’s no

money in dying a quick death either unless you’re a mortician. The

real money is snuggled right in between the two: the fat, sick, and

nearly dead who live a poor extended quality of life propped up by

therapies never designed to cure them of their actual ailment because


152 Vegucation Over Medication

they do not address the actual cause of the disease. True health can

only be maintained and regained by prevention, and prevention’s

greatest weapon in the war on chronic disease, premature death, and

compromised immune systems is live foods and waters, with

adequate physical activity, and a sound mind and spirit.

The US Doesn’t Have Healthcare; We Have Sickcare


As Americans, we’ve gotten so far away from living in

accordance with natural law, the entire country’s health is in

shambles. In America, 20% of our gross domestic product (GDP) is

consistently being allocated towards healthcare costs. Our

expenditures towards healthcare, which is in the trillions, represents

the entire GDP for many other countries. By comparison, France

allocates 11.7%, Germany 11.3%, Japan 10.3%, Brazil 9.7%, and

China only a mere 5.6 percent. Even more shocking is the fact that

despite our supremely large investment in healthcare, our return on

that investment has routinely ranked America globally around 37th,

behind all of the before mentioned countries and every other

developed nation. In 2014, the U.S ranked worst in healthcare in the

developed world, while 16 other developed nations ranked higher.


You Are What You Eat 153

So how is it that despite having access to the most advanced

medical technology and drugs, Americans are the sickest and most

morbidly obese people in the world? The valuable lesson to learn

from this is health cannot be purchased even with the most advanced

technology or the most expensive drugs. It is earned and given

freely when you obey the natural laws that come with this

sophisticated machinery we call the human body. And like any

complicated machinery, the efficiency in which it operates is

directly related to how closely the owner follows the set of

instructions that came with the product.

Here’s a great metaphor to compare how we treat our bodies

versus the luxurious things we buy. If you purchase a Rolls Royce

automobile, it comes with a maintenance package and operational

instructions. You could retain the services of the best mechanical

engineers and purchase additional fluids and replacement parts that

are far beyond exceptional. However, if you decide that you want to

fuel your Rolls Royce with liquid gold or jet fuel instead of the

suggest premium gasoline, then you will have violated the

manufacturer’s instructions and would cause irreparable damage to

your car.
154 Vegucation Over Medication

This is what we do to our bodies when we decide to eat

foods that were prepared in a lab instead of a garden. If you feed

yourself, your children, and your family crap food, then you will

look, feel, and have the health that crap food provides. The food

designed for humans is organic, whole, living, and plant-based.

So, are we really what we eat? Of course, we are. Every day,

50 to 70 billion cells undergo a programmed cell death because

every cell in the body has an intrinsic ‘shelf life’ set to expire at

different times, depending on the type of cell it is.

Think of your body as a huge skyscraper that requires

constant maintenance. If you eat the SAD diet, it’s the equivalent of

using cardboard boxes and duck tape as your building materials.

Eating a plant-based, whole-foods diet would be like using bricks

and mortar. What’s even more fascinating about the concept of ‘we

are what we eat’ is that when we make the switch to a plant-based

lifestyle, the impact is almost instantaneous. We feel more energetic,

less achy, no bloating, and have more clarity. No sooner than a week

or two later, and you’ll be receiving compliments about your

glowing skin and vibrant mood. And before you know it, all the

skeptics will be curious about what and how you’re achieving such

great health!
8.
H2O: The Perfect Solution

E
It's time to rethink what you drink. —Dr. Bobby Price

O
ur planet is mostly covered by water, but not always

where we need it.

Water covers roughly 75% of the surface of

the earth. However, 97% is undrinkable because it is in the form of

salt water. So only 3% of the world’s most abundant resource is

drinkable, and 77% of that water is frozen, of the remaining 23%,

only half a percent is available to supply the needs of all terrestrial

creatures and plants.

With statistics like that, you would think water would be a

more precious commodity than gold, diamonds, or oil; yet with the

twist of a faucet, we can take a carefree 30-minute shower.

H2O: The Perfect Solution 155


156 Vegucation Over Medication

Here’s an even more interesting statistic: Like the earth’s

surface, our bodies are also composed roughly of 75% water.

You can begin to see why dehydration tightropes a delicate

line between severe neglect and suicide. On average, we sweat out

about two cups of water per day (without consideration for

extremely hot weather or exercise, this would increase the

depletion), we lose a little more than a cup via exhalation, we also

eliminate six cups via defecation and urination. This is where the

recommendation for 8−10 cups of water daily comes from.

In conjunction with this water lost, we also lose critical

electrolytes and minerals such as magnesium, calcium, sodium, and

potassium, which aid in the regulation of the body’s fluids. These

electrolytes are also key in neutralizing the acidic foods and

beverages consumed, as I mentioned before.

The Many Problems of Dehydration


Being a chemist, I have a unique understanding and respect

for the importance of having the right kind and amount of water.

Researchers have concluded that up to 75% of Americans suffer

from chronic dehydration. In 37% of Americans, the thirst


H2O: The Perfect Solution 157

mechanism has become so weak due to prolonged neglect; they fail

to respond to the common signs of thirst like dry mouth, chapped

lips, dry eyes, or ashy skin.

The symptoms of chronic dehydration are often mistaken for

illnesses. Some of these misdiagnoses include:

Weight Gain
When the body’s cells are depleted of water, they will then

send out a signal alerting the mind of the body’s need for water,

which is often confused with hunger. This mistaken identity leads to

increased caloric consumption. In addition, in a state of dehydration,

the body will resist the urge to metabolize fat because of the absence

of a safe medium to remove the toxins that are most often stored in

fat cells. That is, if the body lacks a sufficient amount of water to

neutralize the toxins that are stored in fat, the body will resist

burning fat as a fuel.

Dermatological Issues
Did you know the skin is the largest organ system in the

body? During chronic dehydration, the skin is the first organ system

to be denied water. This leads to a reduced elimination of toxins and


158 Vegucation Over Medication

healthy oils, causing the pores to become packed with toxic waste,

leading to acne, discoloration of the skin, chapped lips, premature

wrinkling, bags under the eyes, dermatitis, psoriasis, and overall

dryness of the skin.

Chronic Fatigue
Almost every bodily function requires water to take place.

Even small imbalances in our hydration greatly affect our alertness.

When we are dehydrated, our blood volume drops correspondingly.

This causes the heart to pump harder in order to maintain blood

pressure. This is critical because this pressure is what allows

efficient circulation to deliver vital nutrients to the organs, muscles,

and every cell in the body. Chronic dehydration will eventually

redirect the blood away from the skin to the muscles and organs and

impair your ability to diffuse heat, causing the core temperature to

increase. This is what leads to rapid fatigue, muscle cramps, and

light-headedness.

You can now see why simply resting will not cure you of

chronic fatigue syndrome. Ensuring you are properly hydrated with

water containing natural electrolytes is one of the best solutions to

fatigue.
H2O: The Perfect Solution 159

Depression
The brain contains roughly 75% water. During bouts of

chronic dehydration, the brain’s functions can become severely

compromised. Dehydration depletes the body of essential amino

acids that directly impact mood. The antioxidants tryptophan and

tyrosinase produced in the liver are critical for brain function, but

their production becomes compromised as a result of dehydration.

The neurotransmitters serotonin, melatonin, indolamine, and

tryptamine all function as part of the integrity of a balanced mind

state, and all of these neurotransmitters are the by-products of the

amino acid tryptophan.

Serotonin is known as the ‘happy molecule.’ Interestingly

enough, the most commonly prescribed antidepressants are

serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase the presence

of serotonin in the synaptic region. The list includes Celexa,

Lexapro, Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft (Sertraline). Within the brain, the

amino acid tryptophan is converted into serotonin. However, in

order for this to take place, an adequate amount of water is required

to transport tryptophan across the blood-brain barrier.


160 Vegucation Over Medication

Sleep Deprivation
As mentioned in the previous section, dehydration thwarts

the production of melatonin in the liver. Melatonin is the hormone

that aids in the control of your sleep-wake cycles. Based on the

body’s own internal clock, the levels of melatonin are controlled.

The levels rise during sleeping hours and then begin to gradually

reduce themselves as dawn approaches.

Water provides the critical medium needed for this hormone

to be produced. Stay hydrated and drink a cup of water before bed to

get the internal engines running. This will allow you to improve

your sleep hours.

Hypertension
Blood pressure is the arterial pressure that blood exerts on

the systemic circulation as it traverses the 60,000-plus miles of

vascular highways in your body. Although its measurement can

vary, depending on multifactorial components, hypertension affects

millions of people worldwide and is a primary risk factor for

cardiovascular disease. During dehydration, the circulatory system

will constrict to compensate for water loss and to maintain pressure.


H2O: The Perfect Solution 161

The constriction of the arterial vessels will correlate with a rise in

overall systemic pressure.

Because of the reduced fluid volume, the body will attempt

to retain any remaining fluids to aid in the neutralization of toxins.

One of the most commonly prescribed treatments for

hypertension is a diuretic (HCTZ). Diuretics work by simply

increasing the patient’s elimination of retained water, thus lowering

the overall systemic pressure. But here’s the catch: diuretics will

never cure the patient, and in fact, it’s a certainty that once you are

prescribed a diuretic, your therapy will be continually escalated with

other blood pressure medications at some point. It should also be

noted that the retention of water is a protective mechanism that aids

in protecting you from the toxic internal environment that created

the condition initially. These diuretics, although helpful in some

ways, do not address the cause, and they worsen the patient’s

dehydration.

Chronic Constipation
According to the Mayo Clinic, chronic constipation is

infrequent bowel movements or difficult passage of stools that

persists for several weeks or longer. This definition, although more


162 Vegucation Over Medication

accurate than most, does not help us understand when an infrequent

problem becomes chronic. Nor does it inform the patient of the

severity of the issue.

The truth is, your bowel movements are one of the greatest

predictors of your overall health, and the number of bowel

movements should be directly associated with the number of meals

you eat. The shape, texture, odor, size, color, and buoyancy are

direct indicators of your diet and gastrointestinal functionality.

These features can provide clues related to the disease process.

Fecal matter is comprised of fiber, 75% water, both live and

dead bacteria, dead cells, and mucus. The SAD diet is deficient in

fiber, lacking in foods with digestive enzymes, and water deficient.

These are key components that contribute to a healthy digestive

system. Attempting to treat constipation with both prescription and

over-the-counter laxatives only further complicates the issues

because these medications lead to more severe dehydration. There

are no shortcuts: just drink the perfect solution!

These are just a few of the side effects of chronic

dehydration that mimic themselves as misdiagnosed illnesses. Being

that our very existence is comprised of 75% water, it would appear


H2O: The Perfect Solution 163

rightly justified that our internal biology would initiate what appears

to be an alarm system, alerting us to our dehydrated state. A body in

a dehydrated state will immediately begin rationing its deficient

water supply based on the hierarchy of the organ system.

The brain will take priority over all other systems; this is due

to the fact the brain is 85% water, receives 20% of the body’s blood

supply, and is the master control center.

At this point, you might question, why aren’t the normal

signs of thirst sufficient for the task: dry mouth, chapped lips, dry

skin, dry eyes, dark urine, or the sensation of thirst itself? As I said

before, dry mouth is often a last ditch effort to alarm you of

dehydration. After prolonged neglect, your thirst mechanism is

eventually silenced.

Many people believe because they are drinking any

beverage, it means they are hydrating themselves. This is a common

misconception. There’s an assumption that drinking coffee, teas,

sodas, sports drinks, and juice drinks can serve as a comparable

substitute for an already perfect solution. When in fact those

beverages are actually dehydrating in nature. There are many

beverages that are dehydrating, like sodas, coffee, caffeinated teas,


164 Vegucation Over Medication

and juices that contain massive calories and chemicals that cause

toxic buildup. Water is the only sugar-free, zero-calorie beverage

you can have.

Caffeine Is a Powerful Drug


With no offense to the Starbuckers of the world (I know how

you feel about your morning’s brew), Starbucks does a magical job

in marketing and promotions. People line up in a ‘Pied Piper’

fashion to consume its tasty beverages.

According to a 2010 survey conducted by the National

Coffee Association, 54% of Americans over the age of 18 drink

coffee every day, drinking roughly three nine-ounce cups daily. A

December 2012 report by the FDA titled “Caffeine Intake by the

U.S. Population” stated the average amount of caffeine consumed in

age groups 20−45 years old was roughly 300 mg per day per person.

For those of you unaware of why it seems to be impossible

to start your day without a caffeinated beverage, or why kicking the

habit of drinking those beverages often elicits withdrawal

symptoms, it’s because caffeine is considered a drug. It’s classified

as a central nervous system stimulant because of the temporary


H2O: The Perfect Solution 165

boost in energy and alertness. But like any drug, the abuse of its

limitations can prove detrimental. A tablespoon or 10 grams of

caffeine will kill you. Naturally extracted caffeine is separated from

coffee beans when exposed to high temperatures. However, the

majority of caffeine in soft drinks is produced synthetically in

Chinese pharmaceutical plants. And now the American population’s

love for caffeinated coffees and teas has been partnered with

caffeinated energy drinks.

Many are drinking them under the assumption of ‘all things

in moderation’; however, let’s examine why this is not a philosophy

to guide your health. In 2010, Sunkist orange soda had a disastrous

miscalculation of caffeine label content. The label read 41 mg of

caffeine per 12 ounce serving while the actual content was 240 mg,

six times the amount of caffeine. That would be the equivalent of

three Red Bulls or 16 ounces of strong coffee. As a result, 40,000

cases of hyper-caffeinated Sunkist were voluntarily recalled.

This explains why caffeine is so dangerous because it

overstimulates the kidneys to produce a diuretic effect leading to

dehydration. This why your thirst can never be quenched by these

dehydrating caffeinated beverages. It’s like attempting to fill a


166 Vegucation Over Medication

bucket that has a large hole at the bottom. This constant loss of

fluids creates a severely dehydrated individual, and carbonated

water is not capable of hydrating the body.

The sugars in soft drinks have been replaced with the

synthetic neurotoxin aspartame (sold as NutraSweet, Equal,

Spoonful, Equal Measure, etc.), as I mentioned in the previous

chapter. This poison is concealed behind the promotion of zero

calories; however, it’s 180 times sweeter than natural sugar.

How Much Water Should You Drink?


The common recommendation is that you should drink 8−10

glasses of water daily. However, this one-size-fits-all prescription is

a bit inaccurate. It does not account for strenuous exercise, hot and

humid temperatures, medical conditions, or whether you are prone

to sweating profusely. Two to three liters per day can be used as a

baseline recommendation, but if you are involved in any activities

that result in additional fluid loss, like exercise, you will need

additional water to meet the demands of your body. Generally

speaking, drinking half your body weight in ounces of natural spring

water is a good measuring tool.


H2O: The Perfect Solution 167

The Poor Quality of Our Public Water


A serious and often overlooked consideration is the quality

of water we’re drinking.

In the United States, tap water is the municipal water that

comes out of the faucets. This water is treated harshly with

chemicals and then pressured through aged piping right into your

clean glass. So the only thing clean about a glass of tap water is the

glass itself!

We should treat water as the elixir of life it is. Nothing on

earth would exist without it. The Japanese researcher Dr. Masan

Emoto conducted extensive research on water and how its properties

changed when exposed to various stimuli, such as words, thoughts,

and feelings. In similar experiments with plants exposed to positive

thoughts, words, and feelings, these plants grew healthier and more

vibrant. Both plants and water exposed to harsh behavior and

conditions had just the opposite effect.

Another quality measurement is comparing water in lakes

and rivers near metropolitan cities to water in isolated areas, closer

to nature. Measuring the content of these waters, we see a vast

difference in the amount of minerals and composition of pollutants.


168 Vegucation Over Medication

Some of the minerals common to natural water sources include

magnesium, which is essential to muscle movement, protein

metabolism, heart function, and blood clotting, among other vital

functions. The daily recommendation for magnesium is 1−1.2 grams

daily. Magnesium is involved in over 300 bodily functions. So when

we are deficient, it will show up in so many aspects of our health,

including sleep.

Another essential mineral is calcium, which is critical to

strong teeth and bones, regulating nerve transmission, blood

clotting, and muscle contraction. Like magnesium, the daily

recommendation is 1−1.2 grams daily.

Although sodium is often vilified, it occurs naturally due to

underground salt deposits. It is often supplemented as a ‘water

softener’ and for purification. Sodium is critical to the transportation

of nutrients throughout the body and balancing fluid levels. Natural

sodium in its organic form has a positive effect on blood pressure,

contrary to the processed inorganic form that is in many processed

foods.

Potassium functions to maintain a proper acid-alkaline pH

and proper electrolyte balance in the blood. A deficiency leads to


H2O: The Perfect Solution 169

fatigue, increase in blood pressure, muscle weakness, cramping, and

anxiety.

All of these essential minerals are combined to create

alkaline reserves that maintain the body’s alkaline pH of 7.35

through a buffering system. They are constantly being withdrawn to

counterbalance the acidic foods and drinks you consume. Once these

alkaline reserves are depleted, they will begin to withdraw these

minerals from areas that you need them, such as the calcium in your

teeth and bones.

Tap water is treated with chlorine to reduce the presence of

parasites and attempt to make municipal water biologically safe

during its storage and transit through water main lines, tanks, and

plumbing. However, it also contains fluorine, which in chemistry is

well known to be volatile and poisonous. People often add a filter in

an attempt to remove the chlorine residue and improve the taste. But

most filters do not protect against parasites (cryptosporidium and

giardia), heavy metals such as lead that leach from the corrosion of

outdated pipes (as we have seen in Flint, Michigan), antibiotics, and

a host of other ghastly critters.


170 Vegucation Over Medication

As I said, water is the elixir of life; so all forms of life pursue

water with the same ferocity as we do, just with more ingenuity.

That’s how all the critters end up in our water supply. By the way,

the parasite Cryptosporidium is a waterborne parasite that is shed in

the feces after reproducing by the millions in the intestines of its

host. This parasite can withstand temperature extremes and even

survive direct exposure to pure chlorine bleach. No antibiotics or

other medical treatments can remedy this vagrant. This is why using

just a standard water filter doesn’t do the job.

Finding Healthy, Living Water


The most common option is now bottled water, which is

typically labeled as either purified or distilled.

Before I describe their differences, be sure to patronize only

bottling companies that have ensured the plastic they use is free of

bisphenol A (BPA). This is an industrial chemical that has been

shown to seep into foods and beverages from plastic containers and

leads to a host of health issues, including cancer, infertility, and

birth defects.
H2O: The Perfect Solution 171

Purified water is filtered water that is further cleansed and

purified through an additional purification process, which is

typically reverse osmosis, distillation, or deionization. The final

product has higher purity than tap or filtered water. You’re probably

wondering, because of my previous statement, is distilled water just

purified water? It can be confusing. However, purified water isn’t

always distilled water, depending on the process of purification

used. Despite the fact that in the process of distillation and

purification, water is exposed to higher temperatures than either

reverse osmosis or deionization, the most important fact is, neither

at conclusion will contain adequate amounts of minerals and trace

elements for our biological needs.

They are considered dead water.

Dead water will eventually leach minerals from the body. So,

essentially, bottled waters like Aquafina or Dasani are clean toilet

water deficient in vital minerals.

The process of distillation, reverse osmosis (usually in an

acidic medium), and deionization all eliminate minerals in the

process. So, if those minerals are not added back organically, you

are drinking dead water.


172 Vegucation Over Medication

Natural mineral water, or waters labeled ‘spring water,’ must

originate from an officially recognized source. However, spring

water does not undergo a two-year intensive recognition and

regulatory process and did not have to be bottled at the source until

recently. Spring water is the statutory name for water acquired from

a non-polluted ground source. In the UK, spring, tap, bottled, and

filtered water can be chemically treated, while natural mineral water

cannot. So, from a common sense standpoint, the source of water

should be isolated from major cities, like areas in the Himalayas or

Mount Fiji. These waters are naturally cleansed via the process of

rain and supplemented with minerals and trace elements by filtering

themselves through the earth.

Again, natural spring water should flow from a natural

spring and be bottled at that source. Natural spring water is naturally

alkaline with organic minerals from the earth, not alkalized with

chemicals to raise the pH. Artesian spring water is obtained from a

natural source but bottled off-site, then processed and purified.

Mineral water could be natural or artesian water.


H2O: The Perfect Solution 173

Can you see the confusion that the water industry is

presenting us with? What’s probably more confusing is the whole

alkaline pH focus these days.

The pH of most bottled water is highly acidic, and tap water

most certainly is. However, it is not enough to simply purchase the

bottled water with the highest pH above 7 to replenish your alkaline

reserves. Check the labeling or call the company to determine the

source and location in which the water was bottled.

What minerals if any are listed on the label?

Is the container BPA free?

Are they labeling this water as artesian, mineral, spring,

distilled, purified, or deionized?

Are these natural electrolytes or synthetically added?

These are just a few questions that you should know about

one of the most important nutritional and health decisions you make

on a daily basis.

You should only ingest live waters, which come from a

natural source and are unadulterated.

To expand your perspective on the topic, live waters are also

present in fruits and vegetables that contribute to your hydration.


174 Vegucation Over Medication

Fruits and vegetables, unlike other foods, come equipped with their

own digestive enzymes that aid in their own digestion and prevent

you from using alkaline reserves. This is another reason why eating

plant-based and lightly preparing your food is so vital. High

temperature from cooking denatures digestive enzymes, kills

nutrients, and removes live waters.

When You Consume Water Matters Also


Lastly, when you drink water is also of great significance.

Drinking large amounts of any beverage during a meal

violates the very nature of our digestive machinery. This is because

when we eat, our stomach releases pH-sensitive digestive enzymes

responsible for reducing our food into absorbable chyme. When we

drink large amounts of fluids with our meals, these pH-sensitive

digestive enzymes are neutralized and rendered ineffective. It’s

better to drink a large amount of water 10−15 minutes before eating

a meal.

The great thing about water is, it passes straight into and out

of an empty stomach. This lubricates the digestive tract in

preparation for food digestion, prevents overeating, and bypasses the


H2O: The Perfect Solution 175

issue of digestive enzymes being neutralized. During the meal, you

can drink a small amount to simply clear your throat as you eat. As a

rule of thumb, you should allow two or three hours after a meal to

drink a large amount of fluids. You should also drink one or two

cups of water prior to sleep and immediately upon awakening. This

will aid in the sleep process and jumpstart you in the morning.
9.
Digestive Rest

E
Man lives on one-fourth of what he eats, on the other three-
quarters lives the physician. —Egyptian Proverb

T
oday chronic fatigue is so common that caffeinated

coffee, espresso, tea, or some form of toxic energy drink

is ingested almost on a prescription basis. A lot of

people feel like their day doesn’t get started until they’re spiked up

on caffeine or artificial sugar to deal with the groggy low energy

state they’re confronted with every morning.

Have you ever taken the opportunity to wonder why is it that

after eight, sometimes ten, hours of sleep, you still wake up feeling

lethargic, hung over, beat up, and as if you’ve been doing P90 x the

whole time? It’s so rare to meet someone naturally bursting with

energy in the morning that most people are annoyed by them! But

176 Vegucation Over Medication


Digestive Rest 177

the value of having sustainable energy throughout the day is a

priceless commodity. So the big question is, after all that rest, where

does the energy go? Most people seem to be getting zero return on

their rested investment.

So let’s talk energy!

According to The First Law of Thermodynamics, energy is

neither created nor destroyed but simply transferred. When we eat,

the food must be absorbed and assimilated in order to be converted

into energy.

America is without a doubt the most overfed nation in the

world, so we should be bursting at the seams with boundless energy,

but it’s quite the contrary. Most people will sneer at anyone who has

the energetic nature of a drill sergeant. So I guess the real question

is, once our foods are digested, what happens to this overabundance

of energy?

The body has a total of 11 systems: cardiovascular, central

nervous, skeletal, muscular, reproductive, lymphatic, respiratory,

integumentary, endocrine, excretory, and digestive.

Each of these systems is critically important to survival and

requires its share of energy for functionality. So, if you had to guess
178 Vegucation Over Medication

which system requires the most energy expenditure, you would

probably assume the cardiovascular system. After all, the heart beats

about 100,000 times per day and about 35 million times per year and

pumps 5.6 liters of blood through the entire body three times per

minute over a distance of 12,000 miles in one day. That’s four times

the distance across the United States from coast to coast or the

distance from where I lived in Japan to my home on the East Coast

of the United States.

But you would be incorrect!

Maybe it’s the respiratory system. Considering after only a

few short minutes of not breathing, we would die, and from birth to

death, it is an activity we must consistently do even in our slumber.

We breathe 20,000 times per day without even noticing most of the

breaths.

But you would be incorrect once again.

You probably believe that the muscular system is the only

logical answer remaining. This option would seem even more

logical due to the skeletal muscle’s lack of automaticity and

efficiency. However, the skeletal muscle actually burns very few

calories on a per pound basis, especially at rest.


Digestive Rest 179

The real answer is your digestive system.

So allow me to explain the magnificence and delicate

balance of the digestive system so that you will have a healthy

respect for its engineering and an understanding of how we often

violate this system, and in turn violate our health.

Your ‘Second Brain’


The digestive system has a mind of its own, both literally

and figuratively. It is often referred to as the ‘second brain’ or

enteric nervous system (ENS) because, in very much the same way

the brain transmits signals, responds to stimuli, and records

experiences, the second brain does exactly the same. It uses many of

the same neurotransmitters to propagate these actions. For instance,

95% of all serotonin, ‘the happy molecule’ that is often the target of

many prescription drugs for the treatment of depression, is located

and manufactured in the gut. In addition, dopamine, norepinephrine,

and benzodiazepines, chemicals which are the biological blueprint

for drugs like Valium and Xanax, are found in rich abundance in the

gut.
180 Vegucation Over Medication

The ENS is embedded within the gut wall and can operate

both independently and in conjunction with the brain. There are over

100 million more neurons in the gut compared to the spinal cord,

making the detection of harmful foreign invaders an easy feat. In the

event that a pathogen should arrive, immune cells immediately

begin secreting inflammatory histamines to call in the troops,

simultaneously triggering diarrhea and vomiting to quickly expel the

unwanted critters.

Eating processed dead foods laced with hormones,

chemicals, and pathogens provides a breeding ground for them to

wreak havoc on your digestive system. And because these foods

lack their own digestive enzymes and fiber, they will not be

metabolized, which will cause them to fester and rot in the bowels.

This is how we contribute to our own demise by digging an early

grave with our own forks and spoons. This process is known as

autointoxication, no different than drinking yourself to death.

The Dangerous Buildup of Toxins


Our health is largely dependent on how well our bodies

eliminate toxins. Constipation initiates disease because bowel waste


Digestive Rest 181

will eventually rot and become toxic. The toxins from that waste

will leach into our bloodstream. It doesn’t matter if you eat a vegan

or the SAD diet, the real testament to health is elimination. Our core

body temperature is 98 degrees. So the food in our bellies is like

food in a pot sitting in the middle of the street on a hot summer day.

In just a few hours, the entire meal will be no good.

The carbohydrates will ferment, the proteins will rot and

putrefy, and the fats and oils will become rancid. In the book

Toxemia Explained, Dr. J. H. Tilden explains, “One of the first

things to do to get rid of any so-called disease is to get rid of

toxemia, for it is this state of the blood that makes disease possible.

Disease is a crisis of toxemia, which means that toxins have

accumulated in the blood beyond the toleration point, and the crisis,

the so-called disease – call it a cold, flu, pneumonia, headache, or

typhoid fever – is a vicarious elimination. Nature is endeavoring to

rid the body of toxins. Any treatment that obstructs this effort at

elimination baffles nature in her effort at self-curing.”

So disease is the body becoming exhausted with toxic waste

as a result of an inability to eliminate via proper elimination routes


182 Vegucation Over Medication

and nature’s attempt to eliminate those wastes through an alternate

channel.

Once these toxins accumulate, they begin to be absorbed

across the bowel membrane into the bloodstream. They will begin

circulating throughout the entire body and concentrating in the

weakest tissues. If the toxins settle in the pancreas, then the disease

will be diabetes; in joints, then rheumatoid arthritis; and if they

settle in the blood itself, the patient could experience high blood

pressure or septic blood. No matter where the toxins settle, they

begin changing the cellular function and lead to degeneration in that

tissue. As these cells begin to break down, so does the entire organ

system. The heart begins to fail when toxins are concentrated in the

cardiovascular tissues, the liver in cystic fibrosis, or the kidneys in

end-stage renal disease. This is all the result of autointoxication and

checked elimination.

The Six Paths of Eliminations


There are six primary elimination paths for toxins in the

body:
Digestive Rest 183

1. Skin
The skin is the first line of defense to all things foreign, but it

also works in conjunction with other organs of elimination to

remove waste. Every toxin that is soluble in water can be eliminated

via sweat. The common toxins that are eliminated through the pores

are the metabolic products of rich foods like meat, dairy, and eggs.

Quite often acne is a sign of accumulated toxins from these foods

being pushed out of the skin.

2. Kidneys
Many of the same toxins will accumulate in the kidneys

because they are responsible for filtering our entire blood supply.

The kidneys are so essential to our biology that we have two, despite

the fact that we could survive quite easily with just one. The kidneys

not only filter our entire blood supply to remove toxic waste but also

excrete excess fluids. The nephrons within the kidneys replenish

essential nutrients and water back into the blood supply while

retaining some toxins and excess fluid. The toxins and excess fluids

are eventually eliminated in the form of urine by way of the bladder.


184 Vegucation Over Medication

3. Lungs
The lungs also play a critical part in detoxifying our bodies.

They remove toxic waste from the body in the form of gases. The

most common example of this is the exchange of oxygen from the

atmosphere and elimination of carbon dioxide when breathing. If

our lungs didn’t efficiently remove carbon dioxide from the body, it

would lead to respiratory acidosis. Using deep diaphragmatic

breathing techniques, you could remove toxins from air pollution or

years of smoking.

Our bodies are constantly on the defense to cleanse and

detox the body of chemicals that put our well-being in jeopardy.

Case and point is, after a night of drinking alcohol, our bodies go

into a state of emergency and purging. A chemical produced by the

liver as a by-product of alcohol is what causes the alcoholic-like

smell to be released from the lungs.

4. Phlegm and Mucus


The phlegm and mucus produced during a productive cough

or a head cold is another method used to eliminate toxins or

infections. Many of the toxic foods we eat are mucus-producing and

so are eliminated from the body covered in mucus.


Digestive Rest 185

5. Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system is considered the garbage-collecting

sewer system of human anatomy. The lymph fluid can only be

moved by the skeletal pumping action of muscle movement (which

is another reason being active is so critical), and this is why the

lymph nodes are concentrated near the most active joints and folds

of the body. The lymphatic system provides a janitorial service,

collecting and removing extracellular fluid, intracellular waste,

toxins, heavy metals, infection, and waste collected throughout the

body.

6. Digestive System
The king of all kings as it relates to elimination is the

digestive system. But how much digestion and elimination is

actually taking place? Today 50% of Americans have less than one

bowel movement daily despite eating three to four meals, not

including snacks.

The medical definition for constipation is defined as fewer

than three bowel movements per week.

Pardon the interruption, but let’s take a dive into the

common sense pool.


186 Vegucation Over Medication

The digestive system functions to ingest the foods we eat,

remove the molecular-sized nutrition for assimilation, and then

discard the remaining byproducts of metabolism. This means that

none of the chunks of food we eat cross the intestines, just the

micro-sized good stuff. So when we are constipated, it’s the

equivalent of trying to flush a baby’s diaper down the toilet. Our

digestive plumbing gets obstructed and backed up with bowel waste.

The primary difference between plumbing and our biology is

that our digestive tract is designed for filtering into the blood various

nutritious substances across the tissues of the digestive system.

Constipation causes normally safe foods to become toxic because it

will eventually rot, putrefy, and ferment. The toxins will eventually

leak across the mucous membrane into our bloodstream. This causes

the blood supply to become septic and concentrated. As toxins begin

settling in our weakest tissues, causing degeneration, at some point

this toxic accumulation will begin presenting itself as what we

define as ‘disease.’ Meanwhile, the self-inflicted assault continues

with the average American stuffing his or her face with three or four

meals daily, thereby eating thirty meals in a week’s time on top of

the impacted bowel waste accumulating.


Digestive Rest 187

Does the scenario sound eerily possible for most people you

know?

Doesn’t it seem borderline suicidal to have ingested thirty

meals and only eliminate three?

Take a Look in the Toilet Bowl!


No matter the frequency of our bowel movements, each poo

explains a lot about the foods we eat and how well our bodies break

that food down. A trip to the bathroom to ‘do number two’ has

become a taboo conversation despite the fact we all do it. But I want

to encourage you to start taking a look at your poo before you flush

because it could tell you a lot about your digestive health.

Undigested food like corn could be telling you the corn is

GMO or you lack the enzymes necessary to digest corn.

Floating poo could be caused by eating too many fatty foods

or eating gas-producing foods like beans.

Black tarry stools could be a sign of gastrointestinal

bleeding.

If your poo looks like soft-serve ice cream from

McDonald’s, then you’re probably lactose intolerant.


188 Vegucation Over Medication

Poo pebbles are often the result of a lack of fiber.

And really foul smelling poo indicates a problem with

digestion, leading to bowel waste rotting.

But in any case, if you lack regularity in your bowel

movements, you are accumulating toxins. So the body, using its own

intelligence, attempts to eliminate toxins via the tongue, skin,

kidneys, armpits, feet, sinuses, and even the scalp once it has

determined the plumbing of the colon is not properly functioning.

And in response, we use anti-allergy tablets that stop the removal of

mucus, antiperspirants blocking the removal of toxins from the

lymph nodes in the armpits, and laxatives that dehydrate and

actually add to the problem. Chronic constipation will then manifest

itself as fatigue, migraine headaches, cardiovascular disease, and

even autoimmune diseases.

Fiber
In addition to eating the wrong types of foods, we often eat

them in improper combinations that lead to checked elimination.

One of the chief tools of prevention commonly missing from

the SAD diet to remedy these potential ailments is fiber. The World
Digestive Rest 189

Health Organization recommends an upper limit of 40 grams of

dietary fiber daily.

This is twice the daily average intake in the United States.

Fiber is the indigestible portion found only in plant-based

foods. The bowel’s inability to digest fiber is what gives its utility in

cleansing the digestive tract like a sweeping broom. Fiber also slows

the release and absorption of sugars, helping to regulate our blood

sugar for management and prevention of diabetes.

You have soluble fiber, which turns into a viscous gel in the

stomach. This gel binds to fats to aid in the reduction of cholesterol,

lowering the risk for heart disease.

Soluble fiber is also a major key to maintaining a healthy

weight by giving the feeling of satiation without the addition of

calories. It’s often referred to as pectin, gums, or mucilage on labels.

Great sources of soluble fiber can be found in fruits, vegetables,

beans, lentils, and peas.

In contrast, insoluble fiber does not dissolve during

digestion. It passes through the bowels in its original form, much

like a sponge absorbing water and cleansing the bowels. It can be


190 Vegucation Over Medication

found in the skins and peels of many fruits and vegetables, seeds,

nuts, and sprouted grains.

Insoluble fiber also aids in weight loss, promotes regular

bowel movements, and prevents many of the bowel-related health

maladies such as hemorrhoids and diverticulitis. Insoluble fiber is

often referred to as cellulose or lignin.

Most fruits and vegetables contain both types of fibers in

various combinations. Cereals, grains, and bran muffins are

commonly suggested as dietary fiber; however, recent studies are

proving that this may be yet another false narrative in the field of

nutrition. It’s important to note that despite the USDA’s

recommendation, there is no human requirement for grains. All of

the nutrients and fiber in grains can be easily obtained from eating

fruits and vegetables. Most people now know that any refined grain

is unhealthy for your digestive system. The refining process

removes the fiber-rich bran outer layer and nutrient-rich germ core

that contains all of the antioxidants, vitamins, and healthy fats. This

leaves behind only the high-calorie carbohydrate-rich endosperm,

which without its partner in crime (fiber), leads to rapid spikes in

blood sugar when ingested.


Digestive Rest 191

Many of today’s grains such as wheat, rye, barley, and spelt

contain gluten, a protein to which many people are sensitive. It is

often suggested that people with celiac disease and serious

autoimmune diseases avoid gluten because of allergenic nature;

however, most people actually are sensitive to gluten, but their

symptoms are less severe and may include bloating, indigestion, gas,

and cramping. Wheat, in particular, is especially high in

FODMAPS, a type of carbohydrate that produces gastric distress.

Even in the case where grains are gluten-free, many unrefined

organic grains will still contain anti-nutrients like phytic acid,

gliadins, and lectins, which interfere with digestion and the

absorption of nutrients. These anti-nutrients increase the

permeability of the bowels and lead to leaky gut syndrome. This

condition produces bloating, abdominal cramping, flatulence,

fatigue, skin rashes, joint pain, new allergies, psychological

conditions, and autoimmune diseases.

Oddly enough, many of these anti-nutrients can be found in

the fiber-rich bran portion of the grains that is so often

recommended. In some cases, these anti-nutrients can be


192 Vegucation Over Medication

counterbalanced via preparation methods such as soaking them in

water the night prior, sprouting grains, and fermentation.

It’s my recommendation that you eat vegetables, fruits, nuts,

and seeds as your primary sources of dietary fiber. Chia seed,

flaxseeds, almonds, Brussels sprouts, onions, root vegetables, and

berries are just a shortlist of the many options you have to choose

from. Notice that all my recommendations are fiber within whole

foods. You cannot simply sprinkle synthetic Metamucil or

Polyethylene glycol in a cup or in food to replace what nature so

perfectly designed into the fabric of plant-based foods. They will not

have the same medicinal effect on the gut. Whole foods are a perfect

combination of nutrition and fiber to cleanse the bowels, which

creates a tremendous amount of health. In populations all around the

world, it has been demonstrated that those who eat a diet high in

plant-based fiber live longer and maintain leaner body masses with a

higher quality of life years.

Fiber is also an essential nutrient for creating a balanced and

healthy intestinal microbiome. A plant-based soluble fiber called

inulin acts as a nourishing prebiotic to healthy microflora. Despite

being a soluble fiber, inulin is able to avoid the breakdown from


Digestive Rest 193

acid in the stomach and small intestines, allowing it to be viable for

downstream microflora in the colon.

In addition to promoting the growth of ‘good’ bacteria,

inulin also leads to increased calcium absorption and boosts

immunity. You can include inulin in your diet by eating onions,

leeks, asparagus, dandelion, Jerusalem artichokes, burdock root, and

chicory root to create a microbiome utopia flourishing with happy

bacteria.

Your digestive ecosystem is comprised of over 100 trillion

bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. There are over 500 species

and three pounds of bacteria in your gut. If we were to examine cells

in your body, we would find that only 10% of the cells we observed

would be actually human cells; the rest are microorganisms or

bacteria. So you can easily imagine how crucial it is to maintain the

delicate balance between what is often referred to as ‘good’ and

‘bad’ bacteria. Disease is initiated when this balance becomes tilted

in favor of the ‘bad’ microflora like yeasts, parasites, and bacteria,

or if there is a deficiency in the ‘good’ guys like lactobacillus or

bifidobacteria.
194 Vegucation Over Medication

Fiber is the perfect solution for intestinal cleansing and

hydration in the form of insoluble fiber, and soluble fiber provides

fuel through a process of fermentation initiated by ‘good’ bacteria.

A high-fiber diet creates a much more diverse microbiome, whereas

a low-fiber diet laden with high caloric nutrient deficient foods

promotes the growth of inflammatory bacteria and weight gain.

The Scourge of Antibiotics


One of the most destructive forces to the delicate balance in

our gut is prescription antibiotics. Antibiotics non-selectively kill all

types of gut bacteria, causing a negative imbalance in the intestinal

flora. The overuse of these drugs leads to antibiotic resistance,

which is becoming an emerging issue in healthcare. Numerous

studies have shown that concomitant use of antibiotics with

probiotics during therapy and continued after the therapy helps to

reestablish the microbiome.

Yogurt is commonly recommended as a probiotic

supplement. Yogurt, however, is a sugary junk food that does more

damage than good. Most contain upwards of 30 grams of sugar per

container, and the amount of actual probiotic is sub-therapeutic.


Digestive Rest 195

The only milk product that provides intestinal health for

humans is breast milk. It has been proven scientifically that the

protective effects of the mother’s own immunity can be passed on to

the child via breastfeeding.

The most prudent source of probiotics will always be plant-

based foods but if supplementation is necessary, then use a natural

soil-based probiotic that has concentrations in the magnitude of 50

billion CFUs per serving.

Another tool to put in your arsenal to create great digestive

health is properly combining your foods. Proper food combining

was introduced by Dr. John Tilden and Dr. William Hay, and then

continued by Dr. Herbert Shelton, all working under the premise

that improper food combinations produced an acidic environment as

a result of failed digestion and metabolism of these foods. This is

what ultimately leads to constipation, depleted alkaline reserves, and

toxic accumulation, which sets the stage for disease.

These improper combinations present themselves as

flatulence, nausea, acid reflux, gas, constipation, and even

malnutrition.
196 Vegucation Over Medication

The Digestive Process


Observing animals in nature, we notice that they eat a single

food type or in very minimal combinations. Eating our foods in

either singular or minimal combinations aligns with our digestive

biochemistry related to pH-sensitive digestive juices and enzymes.

We use these digestive juices and enzymes to break down food into

a liquid form so that it can then be metabolized into its nourishing

components (macro and micronutrients, and enzymes). Thus,

proteins become amino acids, carbohydrates are separated into

simple sugars, fats are metabolized into fatty acids, and

micronutrients are extracted into vitamins, minerals, and trace

elements. Once in liquid form, they can be absorbed across the

intestinal membrane into the blood, while the remaining by-products

are eliminated from the body.

The digestive process occurs in three sequential stages, each

requiring various enzymes:

1. In the Mouth
The process begins mechanically in the mouth, via chewing

and the activation of the enzyme salivary amylase. This enzyme can

only be effective if food is chewed for a long enough period to break


Digestive Rest 197

down food mechanically. Salivary amylase in the mouth will break

down only carbohydrates; it cannot digest proteins or fats. Proteins

and fats must move into the stomach for digestion.

2. In the Stomach
The foods that primarily break down in the stomach are

proteins, where both the highly acidic enzyme pepsin and

hydrochloric acid are present. Contrary to popular belief,

hydrochloric acid alone does not break down proteins; it provides

the acidic medium for pepsin to do so with the assistance of gastric

juices.

Starches are a form of carbohydrate that requires an alkaline

medium for digestion, contrary to proteins. Proteins like steak, for

instance, will require an acidic medium. This is why combining

proteins with starches (steak and potatoes) during meals will cause

the pH in the stomach to become neutralized, severely

compromising the digestion of that meal. Once the acid-base ratio is

compromised, the stomach, in an attempt to liquefy the meal, will

overcompensate by secreting more hydrochloric acid and more

pepsin, often leading to acid reflux and heartburn conditions. This


198 Vegucation Over Medication

prolongs the digestion time from what would typically be three

hours to up to 13 hours in the stomach.

3. In the Small Intestine


The food then moves into the small intestine undigested, and

hence not conducive to absorption. Any foods that go undigested

cannot be used for nourishment, and thus will begin to putrefy and

ferment, releasing toxins into the tissue. Hence the nourishment we

receive from food is not dependent on what we consume, more so

than how efficient we can digest and assimilate those foods. If the

enzyme pepsin is neutralized by the presence of starches, it will fail

to reduce protein foods into peptones in the stomach, and erepsin

will fail to further reduce the peptones into their absorbable

component amino acids.

For this reason, proteins and starches (whether plant- or

animal-based) should never be consumed during the same meal.

I highly recommend eating starches very sparingly because

of the acidic nature of these foods. You should wait two hours to

consume any proteins after eating a starch or three hours to eat any

starches post eating proteins. When properly digested, carbohydrates

like fruits are reduced down to simple sugars that are quickly
Digestive Rest 199

converted into energy and used as nutrients. However, when

carbohydrates are improperly digested, they will putrefy and

ferment, leading to the production of carbon dioxide, lactic acid,

acetic acid, and alcohol. These compounds create an acidic

environment that sets the stage for disease. For this reason, fruits

should be eaten under a totally separate guideline. They spend a

minimal time in the stomach, where they are only mechanically

broken down then quickly passed into the small intestines where

they are then chemically digested. Because of this quick and

efficient process, fruits should be consumed alone on an empty

stomach, or thirty minutes before eating any other foods. Melons

specifically should be consumed separately from all foods, including

other fruits. Fruit vegetables such as avocados and tomatoes are fine

to eat with green vegetables, despite being labeled as fruits.

In addition to stomach gastric juices for digestion, we also

produce the enzyme lipase, which catalyzes the breakdown of fats

into fatty acids, and the proteolytic enzyme rennin, which curdles or

coagulates milk in the stomach. Once a child has a full set of teeth,

the enzyme renin is typically totally diminished, and there is no

nutritional need for milk at this point.


200 Vegucation Over Medication

As I mentioned in a previous chapter, dairy products are the

equivalent of Elmer’s glue for the digestive tract and lead to many

of the allergic symptoms we experience; so it is my recommendation

that you avoid all forms of dairy.

Following these few simple principles can create a

tremendous boost to your health. As you can see, eating the most

nutritious foods but failing to eat them properly can lead to

nutritional deficiencies and toxic accumulation. Eating foods in

proper combinations or mono meals is an excellent way to work

with your gastrointestinal system instead of against it.

Therapeutic Fasting
My final recommendation that can be used for digestive

restoration is therapeutic fasting. For thousands of years, this

ancient practice has been used to rejuvenate, heal, and cure the body.

Inscribed on a pyramid wall in Egypt almost 6,000 years ago is the

quote, “Man lives on one-quarter of what he eats. On the other

three-quarters lives his doctor.” Ancient knowledge seems to stand

the test of time, as America has become the most obese nation in the

history of man. The Western diet, which is no longer exclusive to


Digestive Rest 201

America, is on its way to invading even the most rural countries

around the world, creating an obsession for calorie-rich, nutrient-

poor fast foods. The Western diet is a protein heavy, chemical laden,

sugar intensive, refined carbohydrate recipe for creating herds of

overfed and malnourished ticking time bombs.

A National Health survey found that 60% of adults and 30%

of all children in America are either overweight or obese. America is

just a microcosm of what is to come to those countries adopting the

‘eat to die’ lifestyle in all parts of the world. At its foundation, the

typical Western diet or SAD diet is about 60−70% processed foods,

which means 70% of what Americans consume is laced with

chemical additives, preservatives, synthetic sugars, and many other

uninvited biochemical terrorists. In addition, most of the nutrients in

these foods are refined out through the process of food

manufacturing. There is no section of the traditional supermarket

that does not have food laced with chemicals. The aisles are stacked

high with pseudo-foods poisoned with fillers, additives, food dyes,

flavorings, stabilizers, and preservatives. Even much of the produce

is riddled with harmful pesticides and chemicals. As the liver and

kidneys become so oversaturated with eliminating these chemicals,


202 Vegucation Over Medication

in an attempt to preserve the integrity of the blood, these toxins are

stored in the tissues.

When we eat processed and fast foods, we lose our ability to

feel satiated, so we just keep eating. This is a cue that our taste buds

and the sensation of hunger have been hijacked.

The perfect response is to stop eating and allow the body to

recalibrate.

Now I understand that the thought of missing even a single

meal brings a certain amount of anxiety, but I can assure you that

once you begin to abstain from food, you will begin to heal. Fasting

while consuming liters of natural spring water acts as a hot shower

to cleanse the tissues on a deep cellular level.

In a satiated state, the body uses primarily glucose and fat

extracted from foods as its primary energy sources. The pancreas

releases insulin into the blood to facilitate the passage of glucose

into both the muscle and brain tissues to be used as energy. Any

excess glucose will be transported to, and then stored in, the liver as

glycogen.

Twenty-four hours after initiating a water fast, these

glycogen stores will be depleted. All the energy that is normally


Digestive Rest 203

required for digestion is then diverted from manufacturing and

secreting digestive enzymes, production of stomach acid and bile,

the physical breakdown of food, water sequestered into the

intestines, the peristalsis of the intestinal wall, and many other

processes. All of this unused energy now will be diverted towards

healing and restoration. As a result of an evolutionary adaptation

during times of famine, our bodies are designed to fast. Fasting to

heal is an organic process and can be witnessed in the wild or with

domestic pets when they are ill. Most dogs will refuse to eat and go

into a state of dormant activity when they are sick or injured.

The Healing Crisis


When most people fast, they often quit before they obtain

any actual therapeutic benefits because they feel as if their body is

having a negative reaction to not having food. What we often view

as the body’s adverse reaction to fasting is actually a healing crisis

taking place.

A healing crisis, also known as a Herxheimer Reaction,

occurs during a fast when the body attempts to eliminate toxins

more rapidly than the elimination channels can remove them. These
204 Vegucation Over Medication

reactions occur as a result of the rapid detox of cells that release

toxins, dead pathogenic organisms as a result of increased immune

response and fever (high body temperatures help to kill pathogens),

and endotoxins released from those microbes into the bloodstream

that produce headaches, dizziness, fatigue, fever, nausea, and

temporary infections.

During the first 24 to 48 hours of the fast, your body

metabolizes glucose circulating in the blood and stored in the liver

and muscle tissues as glycogen. These glycogen stores are depleted

after the first 24 hours; however, the liver synthesizes new glucose

from amino acids to maintain a normal blood glucose level during

fasting. So the detoxification at the cellular level does not actually

begin until the blood sugars are fully metabolized 72 hours into the

fast.

My First Water Fast, Day by Day


In my own personal journey, days 1 and 2 were simply

uncomfortable, and to be honest, it just felt foreign not placing solid

food in my mouth. We’re so used to having food part of our social

construct that removing it puts us in an uncomfortable space.


Digestive Rest 205

But it’s only when we enter these uncomfortable spaces in

life that we allow ourselves to break routine and stretch our limits

beyond our comfortable self-imposed barriers.

Day 3 of my first fast felt like I was confronting every myth I

had learned about food and healing. Fatigue set in that made normal

activity appear rigorous, and migraine ensued from all of the

ingested toxins that were now circulating in my blood. I started to

experience nausea from the layers of gunk becoming un-plastered

from the lining of my stomach and now was stewing around in my

stomach, and then a little dizziness from all of the above as my brain

attempted to maintain its homeostasis in an acutely polluted

environment. Yes, Day 3 for me definitely was rough, but I’ve also

witnessed others experience none of these symptoms, so each

experience will be patient specific. But at the time, I was certain I

was approaching starvation. My cravings for sugar and salt seemed

to scream at me minute by the minute. These were all withdrawal

symptoms unrecognizable to me because I had never associated food

with addiction. The entire experience at that point was new territory

for me.
206 Vegucation Over Medication

Between days 3 and 4, low insulin levels stimulate your body

to switch to burning stored fats as the primary fuel. Fat, especially

visceral or omentum fat (‘belly fat’), acts as an organ of its own,

retaining many of the toxins we ingest and releasing harmful

hormones that cultivate disease. This, along with many other factors,

can prolong healing, depending on the amount of fat and chemicals

specific to the patient.

The stored form of fat is known as triglycerides and consists

of a glycerol backbone and three fatty acid chains. Both the glycerol

backbone and the fatty acid chains can be used directly and

indirectly as energy in a variety of tissues, with the exception of the

brain. However, fatty acids can be converted into what is known as

ketone bodies in the liver, which are capable of crossing the blood-

brain barrier to be used as energy. The release of ketones into the

blood circulation suppresses appetite, which is a blessing from the

heavens if you’re fasting.

This is why by days 4 and 5, my body seemed to go into

fasting cruise control. I began to experience an increase in energy,

lightness, and an overall feeling of well-being that I probably

haven’t experienced since I was a teenager.


Digestive Rest 207

You will probably find it even more difficult to believe that

despite having periodic cravings, which most likely could be

attributed to pathogens like yeast remaining in the body, you most

likely will not actually feel hungry at this point.

My first water fast lasted twenty-one amazing days. I lost 17

pounds and gained a tremendous amount of health in the process.

The aches and pains in my lower back and joints went away, my

belly bulge disappeared, I had a nagging knee injury that suddenly

healed itself, I seemed to be more energetic at the gym, and my

blood pressure was normalized. I’ve seen thousands of prescriptions

to treat hypertension and have seen some patients on a regimen of

four or more medications to ‘treat’ their blood pressure. I’ve never

in my professional career, not even once, seen one patient cured

with traditional medicine alone. I was initially just curious about

fasting, but at this point, it had my full attention and helped me see

first-hand the body’s unlimited ability to heal when we remove

toxicity from our body.

Having a first-hand experience with fasting most importantly

made me question our approach to healing in modern medicine. I

can’t begin to tell you how humbling it is to have an education in the


208 Vegucation Over Medication

field of medicine valued at over $200,000 and realize much of what

I was taught needed to be unlearned. That 21 days of fasting stands

as one of my greatest accomplishments in life. But as beautiful as

the experience was for me, I am not suggesting everyone just go

cold turkey and water fast for 21 days. I was a lunatic in search of

ways to heal the body naturally so that I could first heal myself and

then show others how to take a more holistic approach to well-

being.

Your First Water Fast


In general, I recommend that you fast no longer than 72

hours for your first fast, and you should consult with your primary

physician to request supervision throughout the process, especially

with a water-only fast. A water-only fast could potentially increase

the blood concentrations of many drugs, supplements, and vitamins

to dangerous levels, which could lead to injury or exacerbation of

known or unknown conditions. This is critically important because

some drugs cannot be abruptly discontinued; they require that you

be weaned off over the course of time.


Digestive Rest 209

If your physician does not agree, and you still feel inclined to

use fasting as a source of healing, then exercise your civil liberties

and find a capable and willing physician or healthcare practitioner

willing to guide you. A holistic approach can often clash with

traditional medicine, but I can assure you there are a plethora of

practitioners who are skilled and enthusiastic about your choice to

choose a natural path.

If you are on medications that cannot be abruptly

discontinued, or you simply don’t feel comfortable with a water fast,

my alternative suggestion is doing a juice fast.

Let me answer your question quickly before you ask it.

Concentrated juices you typically purchase in the store are not living

juices. If the expiration date is longer than a week, it will not serve

you. I understand we live in an ‘on the go’ society, but if you don’t

make the time to use your own juicer, and you choose the more

convenient route of purchasing them, then be sure to buy freshly

cold-pressed juices that are not from concentrate and have no

additives other than the juices from whole foods. If you check out

the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, you can witness the
210 Vegucation Over Medication

challenges, benefits, and evolution of ordinary people like you and

myself who were healed by juice fasting.

It is also important to note that consecutive day fasting is by

far the most effective. But there are alternatives such as mono-

fasting, alternate day fasting, and intermittent fasting, which do

provide some benefit and I recommend for certain patients.

After your fast is completed, your body has to be gradually

reintroduced back to solid foods. The beauty of this process is that

now that you have experienced this level of detoxification, you’ll be

able to feel your foods more. I once went dairy-free prior to both my

fast and introduction to veganism for 60 days and then made the

foolish mistake of breaking the dairy fast with a slice of pizza. In

short, I experienced what felt like the initial signs of a heart attack:

shortness of breath, light-headedness, racing heartbeat, and blurred

vision. So please don’t make that foolish mistake I did by indulging

myself in rich processed foods right after a fast.

You should first continue the juices and add small chunks of

seasonal fruit. Next, you can add raw vegetables and soups. You can

then slightly increase the fiber content of your meals with steamed

vegetables and whole grains like quinoa, nuts, and seeds. This is an
Digestive Rest 211

excellent way to transition into a whole-food, plant-based vegan

diet. By this time, you’ll be so excited about eating solid foods again

that you will have a newfound appreciation for simple unadulterated

whole fruits and vegetables. Your taste buds will have undergone an

organic reboot and reset themselves back to their default settings.

This chapter on ‘Digestive Rest’ is like a pot of gold; reading

this chapter alone could save your life and produce a tremendous

amount of health. The world is overfed on processed pseudo-foods

and starved into malnutrition from a lack of plant-based whole

foods.

As I mentioned in Chapter 1, in Japan, there is an old saying,

“Hara Hachi Bu,” which means “Eat only 80%,” or in other words,

never eat until you’re completely full. We are so used to

overindulging ourselves with food we often eat until we feel sick.

The reason “Hara Hachi Bu” makes biological sense is because our

brains are several minutes behind our stomachs, and as a result,

when we eat to 80%, we are actually full. The Okinawans, in

particular, have embraced this philosophy and enjoy a higher quality

of health.
212 Vegucation Over Medication

You and the people you love can enjoy the same benefits by

adopting these simple techniques that won’t cost you the arm or leg

that diabetes makes you pay.


10.
Going Green

E
Fruits for electricity, vegetables for grounding, herbs for
healing, nuts and seeds for building. —Dr. Sebi (Alfredo
Darrington Bowman)

W
hen it comes to adopting a plant-based lifestyle as

a solution to health and healing, I am certain that

this lifestyle has general application to someone

just like you. Because I am someone just like you, with the same

range of human emotions, with similar strengths and weaknesses,

and the same previous desire to eat meaty, cheesy, salty, fatty,

nutrient-deprived foods.

I grew up eating the same traditional Western foods, and I

had the same apprehensions and attachments to animal-based

products for the majority of my life based on societal myths and

family habituation.

Going Green 213


214 Vegucation Over Medication

I say ‘lifestyle’ as opposed to ‘diet’ because diets are trendy

and unsustainable. They do not prevent, reverse, or eliminate any

disease, as opposed to a whole foods plant-based vegan lifestyle.

Dieting always ends with the dieter gaining back all of the weight

they lost, and 67% end up gaining additional pounds. On the short

list of diet fads are Atkins, South Beach, Jenny Craig, Weight

Watchers, Zone diet, Blood Type diet, and DASH diet; all have

epically failed among others. And now the scientifically

unsupported Paleo diet is the new kid on the block, boasting itself as

the new savior and the original diet of man.

I won’t commit too many words to paper to address how off-

the-mark the idea of mimicking our caveman ancestors is, but I will

tell you there is no ‘DIEt’ capable of being a solution to health,

wealth loss, disease, our environment, and animal cruelty. But the

lifestyle I’m suggesting provides of all of these benefits plus more.

We need to radically change our prioritization to a ‘health is

wealth’ mentality and ‘food is medicine’ approach because the foods

we eat can either give us an abundance of life or a disease-ridden

premature death. And contrary to popular belief, going plant-based

isn’t the extreme decision it’s so often made to be; it’s a return to
Going Green 215

our natural origins. The concept of veganism appears to be the new

fad, but it’s not a new concept at all. Scientists have discovered

ancient Egyptians were predominantly vegan, as well as a long list

of well-known historical figures, including Plato and Pythagoras of

Greece, Leonardo Di Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein.

Not a bad list to be on. In addition, people like Bill Clinton, R&B

singer Usher, Woody Harrelson, Mike Tyson, Russell Simmons

‘The Happy Vegan,’ Stevie Wonder, Serena and Venus Williams

during tournament play, weightlifting Olympic gold medalist

Kendrick Farris, UFC champion fighter Nick Diaz, Mr. Universe

Barny du Plessis, and now superstar Beyoncé is encouraging us all

to follow suit. The list is long and debunks every myth about the

necessity of animal protein for longevity, fitness, health, and beauty.

This lifestyle isn’t just taking a small step away from the

SAD diet, like many of the recommendations made in the traditional

health arena.

It’s like getting wings to fly.

Plant-based whole foods improve the quality of your life, the

longevity of your life, and the world around you. These are just a

few of the amazing benefits that new studies have confirmed. Even a
216 Vegucation Over Medication

small transition from vegetarian to vegan can show huge rewards by

simply ditching dairy.

But being vegetarian, and for that matter just simply vegan,

isn’t sufficient, because these labels say much more about what you

don’t eat and less about what you do. Oreos and Doritos are vegan,

but I can assure you they’re just as bad as the other processed

cookies and chips. I’m not suggesting that you eat tasteless food;

I’m simply stressing the importance of ensuring your food be plant-

based at its foundation and its cornerstone be vegan.

Now I know what you’re thinking—The last thing I want to

become is a tree-hugging meat-hating vegan. Vegans often get a bad

rap for being labeled as judgmental, attacking, conceited, and just

downright annoying.

Allow me to be the first to agree with you that some of us

are. Some annoy the hell out of me. But it’s often from a place of

love. It’s not an attempt to belittle you or back you down into a

basement of shame, but it’s a cry out to love yourself, animals, and

the earth. To me, it’s absolutely amazing how such a simple decision

of what we choose to put at the other end of our fork becomes such a

powerful choice. It’s not only capable of changing your life, but it’s
Going Green 217

also powerful enough to save it, and even the life of another animal.

Because every time you eat a plant-based burger instead of beef,

chicken, pork, or fish, you’re voting with your dollars.

I wrote this book to empower you to take your health back

into your own hands.

We are far more powerful than we know.

When laws and policies are passed that determine what is

deemed safe for us to eat but still contradict a vibrant bill of health,

we can make the powerful decision to not purchase those products.

When we choose to buy local, organic, plant-based, we

inevitably force the food industry to adjust to our demands.

Legislation like the DARK Act shows us that there is no

ballot to vote for healthy foods. What we really vote with is our

dollars and how we choose to spend them. When we support

nutritional and hygiene products that are designed for bottom lines

and not for natural health, we support the corrupt system that says

it’s okay to spray our foods with pesticides, replace standard organic

foods with genetically modified foodstuffs, and put chemicals that

increase the shelf life of products but reduce human lifespan. I see a

lot of people going green using less water and electricity, paper
218 Vegucation Over Medication

instead of plastic, or switching out their gas guzzler for a Prius, but

totally disregard what they’re eating and the hygienic products they

use.

The Problem with Personal Hygiene Products


Let me first start with hygienic products. Many people have

a fear of being condemned to a life of prescription medication. To

some degree, this is a healthy fear, according to a 2016 study

conducted by John Hopkins University School of Medicine

published in The BMJ that reported medical error is the third leading

cause of death in the U.S., accounting for roughly 10% of all deaths.

And when I say ‘medical error,’ in most cases, these medications

were properly prescribed and administered.

So while our apprehension about the pharmaceutical industry

and its products is warranted, we seem to overlook hygiene products

and deem them as safe and harmless, when in most cases they are

quite the opposite. Every time you brush your teeth, roll on

deodorant, apply makeup, moisturize your skin with lotion, or use

any other hygiene product, you are consuming that product. What

most consumers don’t know is that the long and complicated list of
Going Green 219

ingredients on the label is one of the greatest contributors to your

decline in health. If I were able to share with you everything I know

about chemistry, and you then took a look at the average label, you

would have a firm understanding of just how dangerous those

products are and what all those chemical names mean. We consume

these products on a daily basis fresh out of bed and often several

times a day all over our skin, on the scalps of our heads, and inside

our mouths. These daily doses of chemicals go undetected, but their

impact is far from unnoticeable to the educated eye.

Many of the ingredients in beauty products today are actually

pretty ugly. It’s impossible for me to educate you on the 80,000-plus

ingredients used in personal care products. However, they contain

industrial chemicals that range from reproductive toxins,

carcinogens, hormone disruptors, pesticides, and heavy metals.

Let’s just evaluate a typical deodorant, as an example. If you

were to look at the anatomy of a woman’s breast in connection with

the lymphatic system under the armpit, you would be able to see

how intimately connected the two are. The lymph nodes under the

armpit are the first place breast cancer is likely to spread. Lymph

nodes are located primarily in the folds of the body, such as behind
220 Vegucation Over Medication

the knee, groin, and the armpit. These are areas we sweat the most in

order to remove toxins and infections that are collected by the

lymphatic channels and excreted out of the lymph nodes. Using anti-

perspiration deodorants reduces perspiration and thus causes toxins

to build up, which creates the perfect environment for cancer to

thrive.

In addition, most deodorants contain cancer-causing paraben

chemicals that mimic estrogen activity. Studies have shown that in

99% of breast cancer patients, paraben esters were found.

Start reading the ingredient labels on your products. You can

spot these chemicals often listed as methyl, ethyl, propyl, or

butylparaben. These same chemicals are also present in shampoos,

conditioners, shaving gels, toothpaste, lotions, makeup, and food

additives.

This provides a clearer picture of how we unknowingly give

ourselves daily doses of cancer.

It’s supremely important to remember that anything we

apply to our skin is absorbed through our pores and rapidly passed

into our bloodstream. Applying chemicals to your skin is in many

ways more dangerous than ingesting them. Because via oral


Going Green 221

administration, there are enzymes in both our mouth and stomach

that aid in the metabolism and elimination of these chemicals. Most

women are using ten or more beauty products daily, and often they

are expired.

The harmful combination of all of the chemicals from the

various products has a tremendous impact on your long-term health.

It has been estimated that women who wear make-up on a daily

basis absorb roughly five pounds of chemicals into their bodies

annually. While there is no man, including myself, who wouldn’t

encourage women to be glamorous and beautiful, I want to implore

women to take an organic approach through plant-based nutrition,

fitness, and selecting natural products that are consistent with human

biology.

Beauty products are a largely unregulated industry, so even

labels are difficult to trust; so find a strong brand that stands by its

products’ ingredients. Below is a list of the Dirty Dozen chemicals

for you to look out for. My rule of thumb is, if it has more than five

ingredients (especially ingredients having scientific-sounding

names), no matter how fancy it looks, it’s trash, and you should

leave it on the shelf.


222 Vegucation Over Medication

The Dirty Dozen Chemicals

1. Parabens
Used in a variety of cosmetics as preservatives. Suspected

endocrine disrupters and may interfere with male reproductive

functions.

2. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) compounds


Used in many cosmetic cream bases. Can be contaminated

with 1,4-dioxane, which may cause cancer. Also related to the

chemical propylene glycol and other ingredients with the letters

‘eth’ (e.g., polyethylene glycol).

3. Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)


Most often found in exfoliants, perfumes, moisturizers, and

makeup as preservatives. BHA is a suspected endocrine disruptor

and carcinogen. In animal studies, BHA has also been shown to

increase the risk of stomach cancers, liver damage, thyroid hormone

imbalances, and abnormal reproductive development.

4. Coal tar dyes


Coal tar is a byproduct of coal processing. According to the

International Agency for Research on Cancer, it is a known human


Going Green 223

carcinogen. It has been banned in the European Union. It can be

commonly found in hair dyes and products listed for dandruff and

psoriasis. It’s commonly listed on the packaging as p-

phenylenediamine in hair dyes. In other products, it can be identified

as ‘CI’ followed by five digits. It may also be listed as ‘FD&C Blue

No. 1’ or ‘Blue 1.’ In addition to its harmful carcinogenic potential,

it may be contaminated with heavy metals toxins.

5. Diethanolamine (DEA)
Closely related to the chemicals TEA and MEA, DEA can

react in the body to form nitrosamines, which have the potential to

be carcinogenic. It is most often used as an emulsifier and foaming

agent in soaps, shampoos, and moisturizers.

6. Phthalates
Phthalates are solvents commonly found in cosmetic

products and deodorants. They are also used to make plastics soft

and flexible. They can also be used as a plasticizer in some nail care

products. These chemicals are suspected in organ damage, endocrine

disruption, carcinogenic activity, and reproductive toxicity. When


224 Vegucation Over Medication

reading labels, look for the abbreviations DEP, DEHP, DBP, DMP,

or BzBP to help identify these toxins.

7. Formaldehyde
Despite its presence in the United States, formaldehyde has

been banned in the European Union. You will find it listed as

diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin,

methenamine, and quarternium-15. Most commonly found in hair

dyes, fake eyelash adhesives, hair extension glues, and nail products.

Has been linked to cancer.

8. Fragrance (Parfum)
Parfum ingredients can often trigger headaches, dizziness,

allergies, and asthma. This chemical can be found in soaps,

perfumes, shampoos, and even products listed as ‘unscented.’ Some

linked to cancer and neurotoxicity.

9. Mineral oil
A by-product of petroleum often found in hair products to

add shine and moisture. Commonly found in baby oils, lipsticks,

styling gels, and moisturizers. Petroleum products are often


Going Green 225

contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are

linked to cancer.

10. Paraphenylenediamine (PPD)


PPD is a chemical substance commonly found in permanent

hair color and other dyes. PPD can cause reactions ranging from

mild skin irritation to more severe allergic contact dermatitis—a

form of skin inflammation and irritation commonly referred to as

eczema.

11. Talc
Talc has been linked to ovarian cancer. It is commonly found

in talcum powders, baby powders, foaming cosmetics, genital

deodorants, and bubble bath.

12. Triclosan
Commonly found in antibacterial soaps, hand sanitizers,

toothpaste, and antiperspirants. May contribute to antibiotic

resistance and has been associated with being an endocrine

disruptor.
226 Vegucation Over Medication

There are so many more chemicals that didn’t make the list

but are equally dangerous: aluminum, lead, mercury, hydroquinone,

toluene, and sodium lauryl sulfate.

We need to stop counting calories and start counting the

chemicals on the label. There are over 10,000 chemicals that are

allowed in the American food supply and personal care products that

are banned in the EU and countries like Japan. So you can easily see

why it’s tremendously important to go green not only with your food

choices but your hygiene and cosmetic products as well.

Damage to Our Soil and Our Food Chain


The way food is grown today has completely ruined the

nutritional quality of much of our soil. Mono-cropping, ammonium

nitrate fertilizers, chemical pesticides, and the influx of genetically

modified foods have raped our once fertile soils of nutrition.

Good soil requires over fifty minerals and nutrients (calcium,

zinc, potassium, manganese, phosphorous, nitrogen, sulfur, etc.).

Today much of our soil is primarily composed of just nitrogen,

phosphorous, and potassium. As demineralization continues to

increase, disease rates rise in the same parallel fashion. In the


Going Green 227

documentary Food Matters, Charlotte Gershon of the Gershon

Institute couldn’t have stated it better: “When the soil is deficient,

the plant is deficient, and so insects attack and pesticides are used.”

It’s a vicious inorganic cycle that is at the forefront of our health

disparity.

Now consider that most of the produce that is eaten is

canned, boxed, and frozen, and then we add insult to injury by

overcooking it. Studies have shown that even when you lightly

prepare your food by steaming it, you kill crucial enzymes. In the

1930s, a Swiss doctor named Dr. Kouchakoff proved through

numerous studies that a diet consisting of greater than 51% cooked

foods was detrimental to your health, and our immune system

reacted as if overly cooked foods were a foreign invader. These

studies also showed that a diet that consisted of less than 51%

cooked foods did not produce digestive leukocytosis. This is why it

is paramount that we eat more raw foods to be properly nourished,

build immunity, and prevent disease.

In my opinion, it’s ridiculous to be charged more for organic

food when it has fewer chemicals and no genetic altering. It’s like

ordering a hamburger with no cheese or burger and getting charged


228 Vegucation Over Medication

extra. But our entire food system in America is in so much disarray

we accept this type of behavior in exchange for nutritionally poor

foods with cheap prices.

The mechanization of farming has ruined the quality of foods

we eat. Dr. Rebecca Dunnings of the Kenan Institute for Ethics

conducted research on the effects of genetic engineering and the

pesticide glyphosate on mineral content in the mid-1990s. Her work

showed that in order to get the same amount of iron you would have

gotten from an apple in 1950, it would require you to eat 26 apples

in 1998. This explains why food today doesn’t taste nearly as good

as it once did, so the food industry adulterates it with chemical

sugars and additives to compensate its tasteless remix of nature.

It’s Time You Get Some Vegucation!


The modern foods we eat today have had their nutrients

removed through a refining process, and then they are laced with

inorganic vitamins and minerals that could never replace those in

whole foods. In addition, it seems people are under the assumption

that a multivitamin (whether plant-based or synthetic) is capable of

being the ‘magic pill’ to all of this madness. Well, I’m here to
Going Green 229

vegucate you. There is no ‘magic pill.’ Stop believing there is or

will be. A plant-based, whole foods lifestyle is the standalone

solution to our health crisis. So buy produce that is in season, local,

and organic as much as possible.

The fiber in plant-based whole foods can make transitioning

away from the SAD diet uncomfortable because you’ll have to chew

your food more than you ever have compared to the soft mushy

foods you’re used to, and initially, you probably won’t have enough

stomach acid to digest these foods in their entirety. This will initially

cause some gas and bloating as the bacteria in your digestive system

begin to adjust to your new way of living. Don’t worry; your body

will adjust, and you’ll have a new microbiome to thank yourself for.

Begin by implementing green smoothies and juices every morning.

Green smoothies aren’t just a meal replacement; they can be an

actual meal that fills you up because of the fiber and nutritional

content that satiates you.

The key word is ‘green’ smoothie, not ‘fruit’ smoothie. The

foundation of your smoothies should be green leafy vegetables along

with herbs like cilantro, parsley, and basil. According to the

Hippocrates Health Institute, a deeper green pigment indicates the


230 Vegucation Over Medication

richness of the chlorophyll present in the plant, which directly

corresponds to a more abundant health-building quality. Chlorophyll

aids in healing wounds, inflammation, normalizing blood clotting,

digestive health, deodorizing, detoxification, hormonal balance, and

binds up toxic heavy metals to hamper their absorption. Chlorophyll

is to plants what blood is to humans and much more. The structure

of chlorophyll parallels the hemoglobin molecule present in both

humans and animals. Hemoglobin can be found in our red blood

cells and is responsible for carrying oxygen from our lungs to organs

and tissues. When we compare a hemoglobin and chlorophyll

molecule side by side, the only difference is at the center of the

porphyrin ring, where hemoglobin retains an iron atom and

chlorophyll retains a magnesium atom. This is why increasing the

chlorophyll content in your diet by way of green smoothies is

unequivocally one of the greatest biohacks you can implement for

your own well-being.

Many of the blood-building components required for a

healthy blood supply can found in many of the chlorophyll-rich

foods that you’ll be tossing into your blender.


Going Green 231

Making Your Green Smoothies


Especially for those who’ve mostly consumed a SAD diet, in

the beginning, you will find the transition will be harsh on your

chewing muscles, taste buds, and even your stomach. The digestive

discomfort is the cleansing effect of chlorophyll sweeping through

your body, ridding itself of years of pollution. You’ve been starved

of solar power in the form of chlorophyll for far too long, but once

the deficit is replenished, you’ll find yourself with a renewed set of

taste buds, a 20/20-like mental clarity, and a slimmer waistline by

way of the appetite suppressive effects of chlorophyll.

The other huge plus with green smoothies that you won’t

receive from a SAD diet is, you get a massive amount of fiber,

which blunts the glycemic spike while cleansing and detoxing your

colon.

When making your smoothies, make sure that the

proportions of greens to fruits is about 70% greens to 30% fruits. Of

course, it’s okay to make a tasty strawberry banana smoothie at

times, but be sure to make the 70/30 split your foundation.

Another vital gem is to ensure that you are constantly

rotating your greens and herbs in your smoothies. This is important

because each green has different vitamins, minerals, trace elements,


232 Vegucation Over Medication

and phytonutrients. Maintaining a green variety ensures you will get

the full spectrum of nutrients that are available and also prevents

you from accumulating certain compounds like oxalic acid, which is

present in spinach and can combine with calcium from your bones,

leading to kidney stones and osteoporosis.

Also add superfoods, seeds, and sea vegetables to keep

diversity in your nutritional deposits.

If you like creamy smoothies, you can use bananas,

avocados, flax or chia seeds, coconut meat, or nut butters. The key

to getting that restaurant-like quality is the blender, so I would

recommend investing in a high-quality appliance. The keyword is

‘investing,’ because you can either pay Big Pharma or the farmer—

the choice is yours!

Lastly, don’t be concerned about the sugar content from

fruit. These are natural sugars combined with fiber, which blunts the

glycemic spike that would normally occur with processed and

refined foods. Nature’s already figured out the solution; just fall into

alignment, and your body will handle the rest. As long as the fruits

are seasonal and not hybrids, you shouldn’t be worried, especially if

you’re avoiding added sugars.


Vegucation Over Medication 233
Welcome Letter
Greetings!

I’m Dr. Bobby Price, author

of Vegucation Over Medication,

and your Plant-based Pharmacist

and Nutritionist.

After personally

experiencing the healing powers of

a plant-based lifestyle sevens years

ago I was inspired to adopt a more

holistic approach to healing. Since that time I’ve traveled the world

studying with herbalists, shamans, and spiritual gurus learning the

magical art of healing the mind, body, and soul. In my upcoming

book “Vegucation Over Medication,” I talked about the unknown

dangers in modern foods and medicines, and how a plant-based

lifestyle is capable of preventing and reversing disease. Stay tuned

for its release APRIL 2018!

My hope is to inspire and empower you with holistic

teachings that help you RECLAIM YOUR HEALTH.

234 Vegucation Over Medication


Vegucation Over Medication 235
My philosophy on wellness is an integrative approach that

focuses not just on the body, but the mind and soul as well during

the healing process. I’ll show you easy and tasteful ways to

incorporate organic plant-based food in your diet. But I will also be

teaching you about natural remedies, herbal medicine, and ancient

healing techniques like meditation and yoga.

In this Holistic ReEngineering Jump Starter Kit, I’ll explain

why diets don’t work and this lifestyle does. You’ll also learn how

the toxic nature of modern foods, drugs, thinking, television, and

relationships can all be cleansed by being Holistically ReEngineered

by nature.

While this is just a starter kit, it is absolutely essential and

foundational to you making a successful transition to a healthy and

balanced lifestyle. For more awesome information like this, follow

me on Instagram @doctorholistic, Facebook @drbobbyprice, or

email me at [email protected]. You can also ask me about my

herbal Parasite Candida cleanse for the digestive system which I

highly recommend. Remember all disease begins in the gut.

P.S. This is a judgment free love zone. So I encourage you to

move at your own pace and embrace the journey. If it all seems like
236 Vegucation Over Medication
too much at once just embrace what resonates with you now and add

more layers as your comfort level grows.

DR. BOBBY PRICE


Beyond all I wish you prosperity in your mind, body, and soul.
Vegucation Over Medication 237

7 MAJOR KEYS FOR A SEAMLESS


TRANSITION TO A PLANT-BASED LIFESTYLE

1. Decide how you will transition. Omnivore to Vegetarian then

Plant-based Vegan, Vegetarian then Plant-based Vegan, or

Cold Turkey Vegan. The choice is yours, but you should

definitely decide because as they say those without a plan,

plan to fail. Although there is no winning or losing in

transitioning your lifestyle you do want to accomplish what

you set out to do.

2. Preparation is a MAJOR KEY! Most people I’ve worked

with often have great initial experiences with transitioning to

a plant-based vegan lifestyle, but lack of preparation has

been the most consistent downfall. Eventually after all the

excitement and newness of life without animal-based

products wears off most are stuck trying to figure out what to

eat, feel like their starving themselves when there’s a lack of

healthy options, and end up over spending on eating out and

grocery shopping. So it’s key to be prepared by having a list

of go to restaurants that support your lifestyle in your local


238 Vegucation Over Medication
area, a list of great go to recipes for quick meals, and

shopping at grocery stores for meals and quick healthy

snacks not groceries. When you shop for meals and snacks

you avoid getting home to bags of random items that can’t be

assembled into something you want to eat.

3. Add Before You Subtract. This means before you go cold

turkey try a few vegan restaurants locally and a few recipes

at home. Begin switching up your grocery list to more plant-

based foods by trying meat alternatives, healthier grains lie

quinoa, superfoods, and drinking only natural spring water.

Adding more plant-based foods while gradually transitioning

animal products out of your pantry allows you the time you

need to transition seamlessly.

4. Walk in silence. There’s absolutely no need for you to make

a huge announcement with your family or friends, or on

social media that you’ve decided to embrace a healthier

lifestyle of nutrition. You can be certain that if you do people

you haven’t spoken to in years will come out of nowhere

pressuring you to defend your healthy decision. Isn’t it


Vegucation Over Medication 239
funny, that as soon as you decide to eat healthier, everyone

all of sudden becomes a nutritionist? Here’s a great tip.

Don’t take nutrition advice from someone who eats 5 slices

of bacon every morning even though the World Health

Organization has classified bacon and meats like it level one

carcinogens. Allow yourself the space to grow in your own

decision and only tell those who support you making a

healthier choice for you and the environment.

5. Get yourself a Vegucation! It highly important with any

major decision to start with WHY? When you know your

why your decision takes on purpose, its not about a label or

following the trend. Learn about the benefits of embracing a

plant-based vegan lifestyle. Watch inspirational and

educational documentaries like Earthlings, Food Inc., Eating

You Alive, Forks Over Knives, and Food Matters. This will

help give you a WHY and answer many of the pressing

questions that probably delayed you from making the

transition to begin with.


240 Vegucation Over Medication
6. Don’t get stuck in transition. The demand for vegan and

vegetarian food skyrocketed up 987% in 2017. With this

exponential demand, many plant-based food companies are

using some of the same techniques to process plant-based

foods to compete with our old omnivorous taste buds.

Although, these foods are delicious and great for

transitioning to a plant-based vegan diet they are not whole

foods. Which means you can survive eating them, but cannot

thrive eating anything that has been isolated and processed.

This is one of the major reasons why it’s very common to

see someone who is either vegan or vegetarian for years and

they may still be overweight and unhealthy. So its ok to eat

these foods sparingly and during your transition, but the

focus is health and wellbeing.

7. Cleanse and detox. It shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone

that for the majority of people eating whole fruits,

vegetables, seeds, and nuts don’t satisfy our taste buds

initially. After decades of eating adulterated versions of

food, the taste of natural whole foods might be a foreign

concept. In addition, processed foods lack the vitality, fiber,


Vegucation Over Medication 241
and micronutrients that nourish our digestive tracts so it lays

the ground for nasty critters to flourish like parasites and

candida. This is why I highly recommend beginning your

transition with an herbal cleanse that will silence the critters

and ultimately silence the phantom cravings your have for

salt, sugar, and fat. Also doing an herbal cleanse versus your

conventional variety nourishes the tissues and detoxes the

body of harmful chemicals stored in the body’s fat tissues.

Once you remove the toxins from fat the pounds will start

melting away like vegan butter!


242 Vegucation Over Medication

Plant-based Meat Replacements


 Mushrooms
 Jackfruit
 Nut meat
 Chickpea
 Black beans
 Lentils
 Eggplant
 Cauliflower

Plant-based Seed and Nut Milks


 Flaxseed milk
 Coconut milk
 Almond milk

Plant-based Cheese Replacements


 Cashew based
 Pine nut based
 Almonds
 Nutritional yeast (sparingly)
*There are many prepackaged version of cheese you can
easily purchase at your local health food store. But I highly
recommend you do this sparingly and as an alternative
make your own in a high powered food processor. I’ll add a
plant-based cheese recipe for you to try at home.
Vegucation Over Medication 243

Plant-based Egg Replacements


 Flaxseed Meal (1 tbsp + 3 tbsp water)
 Chia Seeds (1 tbsp + 3 tbsp water)
 Banana (1/4 cup)
 Pumpkin + Sweet Potato (1/4 cup)
 Avocado (1/4 cup)

Plant-based Suggested Cooking Oils


 Avocado oil
 Hempseed oil
 Grapeseed oil
 Sesame oil
 Coconut oil (do not cook with this oil)
 Olive oil (do not cook with this oil)
244 Vegucation Over Medication

PLANT BASED SHOPPING LIST

Vegetables
Kale Onion
Cucumbers Zucchini
Olives Squash
Avocado Tomato (cherry & plum only)
Turnip greens Okra
All lettuce (except iceberg) Watercress
Green banana Bell peppers
Bok Choy Garbanzo beans/Chickpeas
Mushrooms (not shitake) Spinach (in moderation)
Romaine lettuce

Fruits
Mangoes Berries
Dates Prunes
Grapes Pears
Peaches Cherries
Apples (organic) Peaches
Prickly Pear Banana (small or midsized)
Limes Plums
Cantaloupe Melons
Raisins
*All fruits must be seeded

Grains
Quinoa Amaranth
Fonio Kamut
Spelt Amaranth
Wild rice Teff
Vegucation Over Medication 245

Spices
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt Oregano
Cayenne pepper Onion powder
Parsley Cilantro
Basil Clove
Dill Thyme
Bay leaf Turmeric

Nuts & Seeds


Walnuts Tahini
Almonds Brazilian nuts
Hemp seeds Pecans
Sesame seeds (raw) Flaxseed
*Be sure to presoak your almonds before consuming

Sweeteners
Pure agave syrup (cactus) Dates

Oils
Hempseed oil Avocado oil
Sesame oil Grapeseed oil
Coconut oil (do not cook) Olive oil (do not cook)
Beverages
Natural Spring water (directly from the source)
Coconut water (directly from the coconut)

*You can infuse the spring water with cucumber, mint, key
limes, or oranges.
246 Vegucation Over Medication

Herbs and Superfoods


Burdock Anise
Valerian Allspice
Ginger root Chamomile
Sea moss (powder and gel) Fennel
Chlorella Turmeric root
Bladderwrack Elderberry
Hemp (powder or seed) Chamomile
Linden

Its important to note this is the strict guideline for foods to


purchase when at the local farmer’s market or grocery store. You’ll
find there are a few things in my recipes that are not on the list.
Those are things I encourage you to eat very sparingly. Stick to the
shopping list as much as possible. And drink a green Juice or
Smoothie every morning for breakfast for the best results. Doing
every morning is what provides the cleansing you need for healing
and health
This is my dirty dozen list to always buy organic and my clean
15 that you can buy conventional at the grocery store.
Vegucation Over Medication 247

Dirty Dozen +2 Clean 15

1. Apples 1. Onions
2. Blueberries 2. Avocado
3. Walnuts 3. Pineapples
4. Cucumbers 4. Mango
5. Grapes 5. Sweet Peas
6. Kale 6. Eggplant
7. Peaches 7. Chickpeas
8. Potatoes 8. Asparagus
9. Papaya (esp. from 9. Kiwi
Hawaii) 10. Cabbage
10. Strawberries 11. Melons (seeded)
11. Sweet bell peppers 12. Soursop
12. Tomatoes 13. Quinoa
14. Zucchini
+ Corn 15. Coconuts
+ All soy products
248 Vegucation Over Medication

VEGAN FOOD RECIPES (BONUS!)

Great Guacamole
 2 avocados
 1 bunch of cilantro
 1/4 of a medium sized red onion
 1/2 of a lime squeezed (key lime)
 Black Olives
 Cherry tomatoes
 Cayenne Pepper
 Himalayan Pink Salt
 Stone Ground Black Pepper
*1/2 Squeezed Mandarin Orange (optional)

Black bean Mushroom Burgers


 1 cup of cooked quinoa
 1 & 1/3 cups canned black beans mashed
 1 tbsp. olive oil for frying
 7 medium sized mushrooms finely chopped
 2 tsp of ground cumin
 2 tbsp. of Sriracha
 1/4 red onion finely chopped
 2 garlic gloves finely minced
 1&1/2-2 cups of bread crumbs
 1 tbsp. of ground chia seed or flaxseed
 2 tbsp. of nutritional yeast
 2&1/2 tbsp. of Braggs Liquid Aminos
 Squeeze lemon juice
 3 tbsp. of water
 Season with Himalayan pink salt and cracked black pepper
*Mix all ingredients in one container and refrigerate for an hour
before making patties and cooking. Serve with lettuce, tomato, and
sliced avocado
Vegucation Over Medication 249

Curried Chickpea Salad


 3 cups cooked or 2 (15 oz.) cans of chickpeas (garbanzo
beans) drained and rinsed
 1 cup of organic carrots
 1 cups of scallions/green onions diced
 1/2 cup of raisins or chopped dates
 1/2 a cup of raw cashews
 1/2 to 2/3 cups of tahini or hummus
 juice of 1 lemon
 1 tablespoon of curry powder
 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
 Himalayan Pink salt and cracked pepper to taste

Vegan Cheese Wiz


 4 c red jacket potatoes, chopped
 1 1/2 c fresh carrots, diced large
1
 /2 c water
1
 /3 extra virgin olive oil
1
 /2 c nutritional yeast
 1 tbsp. lemon juice
 1 tsp onion powder
 1 tsp garlic powder
 1 tsp parsley
 1/2 tsp all spice seasoning
 Salt/Pepper to taste

Instructions
1. Steam or boil the potatoes and carrots until tender.
2. Now place everything into a blender and run until smooth and
creamy.
3. Add to macaroni, nachos, or lasagna
250 Vegucation Over Medication

Avocado Tahini Dressing


 1 avocado
 ½ of a medium sized green pepper
 2 tbsp. of tahini
 1 tbsp. of pure agave nectar
 pinch of Himalayan seal salt
 1 tsp of coconut vinegar
Vegucation Over Medication 251

Thank You!
As our journey together in this book comes to an end, I hope

that your plant-based journey towards good health and happiness has

just begun. Let me first say how proud of you I am for embracing

one of the greatest acts of self-love there is: improving your own

health. In my opinion, health is the greatest form of wealth. With it,

anything is possible; without it, nothing is. As a bonus, I created a

plant-based starter kit to help make your transition a little more

seamless. Enjoy it and apply it, and it will surely help you and your

loved ones reclaim their health!

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