“I have experienced all of the promises of the Word of Wisdom”

By: Alicia Schick

It was summer of 2015, and I was expecting boy #4. We’d been seeing specialists in an effort to resolve digestive trouble my husband had experienced for years, and I was exhausted trying to make enough food for him on a strict elimination diet composed of primarily organic meat and four types of cooked vegetables. So much of the digestive advice emphasizes meat and recommends avoiding grains that we thought it was worth a try. While a few of my husband’s symptoms did subside, others became worse, and we were uncomfortable with the high intake of meat. Looking back I can tell it was a much harder pregnancy than the others–including my highest weight gain and challenges I hadn’t experienced before.

Shortly after our son was born in the fall, we were amazed to learn some new friends of ours didn’t really eat animal products at all. Janeen Alley and her family had eaten whole food, plant-based for at least 10 years and become an expert in the benefits, so we decided to give it a try. We ate a dramatic increase in plants between Thanksgiving and Christmas that year, and I was amazed that we managed to avoid getting sick—no easy feat with a newborn, a 3 year old, a Kindergartner and a 2nd grader in the thick of winter.

As the months progressed, I couldn’t believe the benefits I experienced by eating whole food, plant-based. By March, I had lost all of my pregnancy weight and then some. I had to buy new pants because everything I owned was too big. In June I competed in a triathlon. I was still up with my baby many nights and because of that was pretty inconsistent in my training. Yet my paces were not too far behind my pre-pregnancy times, something I had previously struggled to reach until my babies were much older and I was able to resume more consistent training.

My husband’s digestive issues are still not completely resolved, however a careful plant-based approach has proven to leave him feeling much better than the paleo-style approach we experimented with previously. I have learned that even though raw or undercooked onions, garlic, broccoli and some kinds of beans can be aggravating, we can find a wide variety of whole plant foods and appropriate preparation methods to be gentle on his system. When he does eat differently away from home, he often has had severe symptoms that make us want to stick to what we are doing.

Further, I am now expecting my 5th boy due just shy of my 38th birthday. I never would have dreamed that for a pregnancy at this stage of life I would be feeling so good! With two trimesters down, I have been able to continue in a regular fitness routine (pregnancy-friendly) that far surpasses anything I was able to keep up in my previous pregnancies. I keep telling people this might be the best pregnancy yet. Nearly every typical pregnancy symptom I have experienced previously is either less-severe or non-existent. In particular I’ve had plenty of energy to keep up with my buzzing household of energetic boys. I’ve found that eating plant-based has been part of an important cycle—eating whole plant foods gives me a lot more energy for my exercise, the combination of which in turn gives me more energy to do everything I need to in a day, including plan and prepare healthy meals for my family.

My husband, even as a fit 6-minute-miler in his mid 20’s, seemed to have inherited genes that defaulted to poor cholesterol ratios. Even though we thought we were doing a decent job of eating well and staying active, his LDL cholesterol (the bad kind of cholesterol) always seemed to be above the recommended threshold of 100, leading to poor HDL/LDL ratios and increased life insurance rates. So we were excited to see that his most recent tests showed his lowest LDL level ever: 76!

Before transitioning to plant-based, I often felt confused about seemingly contradictory statements in scripture, including the Word of Wisdom. Why did it recommend that we eat meat sparingly, but also state that animals were ordained for man? Finally it all clicked. Meat is a miraculous back up food to be used sparingly and with thanksgiving for times of cold, winter or famine (D&C 89:13) when plants are not available. Up until advances in the food industry over the past 100 years or so, being able to live off of meat when no plants were available no doubt kept many people alive through winter months, famines, or other disruptions to their food supply. Undoubtedly the Eskimos would have never been able to survive without consuming meat!

Further, the meat my ancestors ate in the 1800s lived a much better life than the vast majority of animals farmed for food today. While this is not only better for the animal, I also believe that animals raised in their natural environment were much safer and healthier for consumption than most of the highly treated animal foods filling our grocery stores today. Doctrine and Covenants 59:20 counsels we should avoid excess and extortion in our food choices, and my feeling is that the mass production farming approach that is taken today is one of excess and extortion. The vast availability of plants is such that I do not need to eat animals in order to survive.

So many phrases in the Word of Wisdom have taken on new meaning for me, for example, “In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last day” (D&C 89:4). I have gained perspective into evils and designs that exist in the last days. So much of the health advice we receive is driven by the profits of big industries that would experience major losses if everyone knew, understood and experienced the health benefits of eating whole plant foods.

I feel that I have experienced all of the promises of the Word of Wisdom to a greater degree:

• receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
• find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
• And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.

In addition to the reduced illness and increased running stamina, my mind is clearer. I am more optimistic and able to accomplish all that I need to. I have greater perspective on how best to accomplish what I need to and what is really important in life.

It took me a long time to really change my thinking about milk and animal foods—most of us have grown up with the idea that milk is essential for strong bones and that animal protein is important for growth, satiety, strong muscles, weight-loss and more. But I truly believe that after “experimenting upon the word” and eating nearly all plants, I have experienced the blessings and gained a testimony of the truthfulness of this counsel.

The transition hasn’t always been smooth—my kids were really sad to see mac and cheese gradually disappearing from the regular lineup. Finding new go-to meals was really difficult for a season, and we’ve had to be deliberate about making sure we get all the nutrients we need (although protein and calcium are not an issue, as most people believe).

But while it could be tempting to give up on plant-based because of one of these bumps in the road, I’ve found it well worth my time to keep learning and keep trying. We find new recipes we really like and recognize that challenges are

just helping us fine-tune and adjust to make sure we are getting everything we need. The benefits we’ve experienced have been well-worth working through these challenges, and early this year I began blogging about the things that made our transition stick in hopes of helping other families make the transition and recognize that it can be done, even with sometimes picky kids!

Alicia Schick is a 37-year-old wife and mother of 4, soon to be 5, boys. She lives in Colorado and enjoys triathlons, hiking, yoga, cooking, being outdoors with her family and supporting others in their plant-based journey through her blog www.myplantstrongfamily.com.