Author Archive for Jane Birch – Page 22

“I definitely see the Word of Wisdom differently now”

By Jane Birch · Comments (17)
Saturday, May 10th, 2014

Elna ClarkBy: Elna Clark

Twenty-five years ago I had colon cancer and had to have part of my colon removed. There were complications following my surgery, and digestion became more and more difficult. The doctors could do very little to help, and I did nothing to change my diet at that time.

About five years ago I started getting some arthritis-like symptoms. Rheumatologists were not certain what to call what I had, but at its worst I couldn’t get out of bed or even hold my hand up to my ear to hold the phone. For a few years I was on Prednisone, but that obviously was not a good permanent solution.

My sister, Orva Johnson, suggested I give up ALL animal foods. I had already eliminated all dairy (except for butter) from my diet several years earlier because I found it wreaked havoc on my digestive system. Also, I ate VERY little meat, maybe a half cup per week. Butter was my weakness. In a way I thought I was so close to being vegan already, how much difference could the extra small changes make? But I knew I needed to get off Prednisone, and the pain of the arthritis was debilitating.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“So That’s What A Drumstick Is!”

By Jane Birch · Comments (8)
Saturday, May 3rd, 2014

Byron EltonBy: Byron H. Elton

I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1954. Back then, we went to church twice on Sundays and on occasion between the meetings we would stop off at the local “Kentucky Fried Chicken” and grab a bucket so that Mum wouldn’t have to cook. If we were particularly hungry, or we had guests, we would get a “barrel.” When the cardboard box with “finger lickin’ good” chicken was delivered, I would volunteer to hold it until we got home. I remember it was wonderfully warm in my lap, and the aroma of the Colonel’s magical blend of “11 herbs and spices” filled our Buick and my nostrils with a wonderful aroma and the promise of a chicken chow down.

I suppose they have changed the recipe since, but in those days, the bucket would be soaked in grease, inside and out. No amount of washings could erase the smell from my church pants, and I was a walking advertisement for the Colonel from Kentucky. We typically dispensed with more formal dining protocol and sat in front of the TV watching “Jungle Jim” and “77 Bengal Lancers” while feasting on chicken parts. There were wings, breasts, and the coveted drumsticks. The latter were the favoured selection for the youngest as they were the easiest to hold.

One Sunday afternoon, we were watching some cartoons while eating. One featured a group of chickens being hunted by a ravenous fox. They proved particularly elusive, and Mr. Fox never did catch one, but every time he looked at them, he imagined them as various parts to be eaten. Each body part would become enlarged and labeled and great drops of saliva fell from his mouth. I was just finishing my drumstick when he started fantasizing about the chicken’s legs. In an instant, I made the connection. I looked down at the drumstick in my hand and suddenly saw the bone, tendons, ligaments and skin. For the very first time I thought, “So that’s what a drumstick is!” I never looked at a chicken or any other animal that we ate the same way.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“Heavenly Father really does care about our bodies”

By Jane Birch · Comments (9)
Saturday, April 26th, 2014

Eliza HirschiBy: Eliza Hirschi

I grew up in a family that always tried to eat healthy, without refined sugars and processed foods. My mom was vegetarian and mostly vegan, so we did not have a lot of meat at our house. My dad and siblings and I still had dairy products, but not as much as a lot of families. I remember hearing in school how we needed milk to be healthy and asking my mom about it. She replied that she wasn’t sure, but she felt like it was not necessary.

When I went to BYU, I took a nutrition course. I remember feeling like they were off base because I believed my mom was right and that animal products were not necessary or healthy, but I didn’t give it much thought. I still considered myself to be a healthy eater, but I did occasionally have meat, and I had dairy all of the time by this point.

When our oldest daughter was about six months old, my dad was experiencing health problems and decided to go completely vegan to see if his problems would go away. I got the book Food for Life by Neal Barnard and was so excited when I read it because it made so much sense to me! My husband and I (his idea) decided to support my dad in his decision and try it out ourselves. We have never looked back!

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“When I changed my diet, an amazing thing happened”

By Jane Birch · Comments (7)
Saturday, April 19th, 2014

Lynn HenrichsenBy: Lynn Henrichsen

As a teenage boy I could eat anything and never put on a pound. However, as an adult, I found myself putting on weight until I weighed over 50 pounds more than I did in high school. My job as a BYU faculty member involved mostly sitting at a desk or standing in front of a class. That led to physical problems. At age 40, running and even walking produced pain in my knees that reduced my activity level even further. Nevertheless, I accepted this reduction and the accompanying gain in weight as part of the normal aging process. I didn’t worry much about it. I exercised moderately and consumed a diet relatively high in refined flour, sugar, dairy products, and meat, which I had been taught were “good food.”

When I was in my forties and fifties, a high school or college classmate or family member my age, who had been a healthy or even athletic youth, would occasionally appear in the obituaries—usually a victim of a heart attack, stroke, or cancer. Also, among those who were still alive, I noticed a significant number growing (in their own words) “slower, fatter, and stupider” and accepting these undesirable changes as inevitable.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“Learning to master our appetites brings us closer to God”

By Jane Birch · Comments (4)
Saturday, April 12th, 2014

George FamilyBy: Rebekah George

My plant-based journey started the summer I turned 25 (2002), when my mom called and said Dad had been diagnosed with diabetes and was going to try a vegan diet for three months. She thought he would have an easier time if his kids were doing it with him. My five sisters and I joined him in his three-month trial. I gladly jumped on board to support my dad, but I remember thinking, “How am I going to give up my cheese?!” I rarely cooked meat, but I had cheese all the time. As I cut all dairy from my diet, I was surprised at how quickly my cravings and taste for cheese disappeared.

During the trial period, I had many conversations with my mom, who had been vegan for several years, and I also started doing my own research. I read some of T. Colin Campbell’s The China Study and all of Food for Life by Neal Barnard. I also studied the Word of Wisdom with a new perspective, focusing on the verse that says the Lord is pleased when we do not eat meat.

By the end of the three months, not only were my dad’s blood levels normal and the pre-diabetic condition gone, but I was also convinced a plant-based diet was the way to go.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“I am awed at how the ‘destroying angel’ has passed me by again and again”

By Jane Birch · Comments (4)
Saturday, April 5th, 2014

Winona DaviesBy: Winona Davies

In 1989, I was 50 pounds overweight (it could have been much more, but because my genes are good, it was “only” 50 pounds). I had gotten divorced a year earlier. I was depressed and struggling to care for my large family. We relied heavily on government help to buy food and ate a pretty “standard” diet. I’d been exposed to some herbal and alternative health experts in my teens, so I knew, for example, that sugar wasn’t good for me or the kids, but it seemed too hard to avoid, so as a single mother, I just didn’t try. I had numerous health problems, though I was only 31 years old, including not being able to sleep because I woke up several times a night to take antacids. I also had gall bladder problems and allergies.

By June of 1989, things had gotten pretty desperate for me, and my bishop decided I needed a break before I broke. He arranged for my children’s father and new wife to care for the kids while I took a bus to my parent’s home 350 miles away. On the bus, I read a book about co-dependency which suggested that if I identified with the book (I did) I was probably a drug addict, an alcoholic, or a compulsive overeater. I was active in the Church and had never used either drugs or alcohol, but I had to take an honest look at my food. I came home and joined a 12 Step group for my problem and realized that my main addictive foods included meat and dairy. I gave up meat then, but I struggled for another 15 years before I could face the idea of giving up dairy, and then only because my compulsive eating was again out of control, and it was absolutely clear that the only foods that were really serious problems for me were dairy-based.

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Categories : Stories
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“I feel the Spirit testifying to me that the way I am eating is pleasing to my Heavenly Father”

By Jane Birch · Comments (3)
Saturday, March 29th, 2014

Marian StewartBy: Marian Stewart

My journey to eating a whole food, plant-based diet started when I was young. I was lucky enough to have a very health conscious mom who was always seeking to learn truths about healthy nutrition. She was vegetarian (and then vegan), used all whole grains, sweetened things with honey, and we never had junk food around. I was mostly vegetarian when I got married, though I did it mostly because I didn’t like the taste and texture of most meat, not because I fully understood the health benefits.

When I had my first daughter a few years later she was very colicky. My mom told me to try giving up dairy to see if that would help, so I decided to give it a try. It worked amazingly, and as an added bonus, I felt so much better when I wasn’t eating dairy. At that point, I started to learn a little bit more about nutrition, especially how animal products affect our health, but it wasn’t until after I had my second child a few years later that I really started to integrate what I was learning into my life. Up until this point, I wasn’t eating meat or dairy, but I was eating a lot of “fake” meats and cheeses to take their place. I also was eating a lot of processed food. I read a few books and listened to a lot of lectures about eating a whole food, plant-based diet, and it all made so much sense to me. The more I learned, the easier it became to give up the unhealthy foods I had been eating and start adding more whole foods into my diet.

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Categories : Stories
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“Out of compassion for animals, I became a vegan”

By Jane Birch · Comments (3)
Saturday, March 22nd, 2014

Christine BradleyBy: Christine Bradley

I originally didn’t give much thought to the verses in D&C 89, except to follow the directions needed to be baptised in my early 20’s in 1972 and to obtain a temple recommend a year later….until….I became vegan in May 2011. Then I embarked on considerable study of the full Word of Wisdom and gained a great appreciation of the inherent wisdom afforded us.

It all began when I watched a video called “Best Speech You Will Ever Hear” by Gary Yourofsky. He is an American animal rights activist and presented his speech at Georgia Tech in summer of 2010. His presentation was about the atrocities to animals that we humans do and allow, for unnecessary food and entertainment, etc. The video was posted on Facebook by a man named Carl Scott who lives in Dunedin, New Zealand.

That very day, out of compassion for animals, I became a vegan. My youngest daughter who still lives at home here was very happy to join me in this new way of living, and my husband, without even looking at the information, was okay about it too.

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Comments (3)
Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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Latter-day Saint Children Share Their Perspectives

By Jane Birch · Comments (3)
Saturday, March 15th, 2014

Three SistersWhole food, plant-based eating is not just for adults! Children being raised in WFPB families have their own experiences with this way of eating and their own ideas about the Word of Wisdom. Here three young children from Oklahoma share their perspectives.

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“I felt whole in that moment, as if I had come home”

By Jane Birch · Comments (4)
Saturday, March 8th, 2014

Sandra CherryBy: Sandee Cherry

The “moment” came as I was reading the third chapter of The China Study by Colin Campbell. I had been in physical therapy for a couple of months when my PT, Rogan Taylor, asked me about my diet. I proudly told him how healthy I ate: not much red meat with a helping of carbohydrates and veggies. He asked if I would be willing to read a book about nutrition and health. I said, “Yes,” and he proceeded to leave the room and return with The China Study. I asked him if this book was about not eating meat and if he was a vegetarian. He answered affirmatively and testified that the book was based on many years of scientific research that supported diet as the source of health. Since he had been both a bishop and a member of a stake high council, I jokingly told him I did not know they called vegetarians, let alone vegans, to those positions! He laughed and said his wife, a Relief Society president, and all five of their children were vegans. Needless to say, I was impressed.

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