A New Way of Eating
Call me crazy, or better yet, call me sane. My nutrition plan for recovery from hip replacement surgery: a whole foods plant based diet.
On March 3. 2014, my “very bad” (in the words of the surgeon) right hip joint was removed and replaced with a beautiful new titanium, metal and plastic ball and socket joint. At 50 years old, I suffered from degenerative joint disease, also know as osteoarthirtis, which left me with limited mobility and the inability to do many of the things in life that I loved and took for granted. Post-surgery few hours later, I was looking for something to watch on the hospital free movie channel. Lo and behold, the second offering on a very long list: Forks Over Knives. Sounded intriguing, bizarre and right up my alley!
The description: Forks Over Knives “examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal based and processed foods.” Loads of scientific data, some gory surgery clips, a smattering of testimonials…one hour and thirty-six minutes later I was convinced!
I had already been already inching my way to this type of eating with the tips from the nutritionist at Miraval (see post below). I had pretty much stopped eating beef, and drastically limited my intake of turkey, chicken and pork. However, I now seek to eliminate fish and eggs, two mainstays of my diet. How will I do this? Gradually and with some difficulty, I am sure. Change is hard.
