Covid-19 and the Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet
Sep 14, 2020
Life changed for many people when Covid-19 showed it’s ugly face. Me included. I was minding my own business, working in my garden and enjoying the day. I started feeling dizzy and strange. I came in the house to rest. My husband recommended I check my blood pressure, which I did. I’ve never had high blood pressure in my life. Guess what? It was high. The next day, it was high. And the next day, it was high. I called my doctor and he put me on blood pressure meds. I hate meds. I’ve been on cholesterol meds for 10 years or more and I hate taking them. Now I was on blood pressure meds too.
I started reading the internet, searching for articles on people who had both high cholesterol and high blood pressure. It didn’t look good. This combination could lead to heart disease. I was scared. It shook me hard. I decided that I would start a Whole Food Plant Based diet.
I had done this before, and it always improved my lab numbers. This time I was desperate and serious. I started right away. My doctor highly recommended this way of eating and was a great support system for me.
I decided to take a WFPB cooking course, so I could learn to cook this way. I chose the Forks Over Knives Cooking Class. This was a very wise decision. It kept me making healthy recipes and enjoying a healthy variety of food for 3 months. It also made a difference in my confidence. I stuck to it.
Because of Covid-19, rarely did we go out to eat. I cooked most of my meals. I loved this course and learned so much.
Fast forward, I’ve been eating this way for 5 months. My weight is down 21.5 pounds. More importantly, my blood pressure went down and the doctor eventually took me off my blood pressure meds. Yay! Now he has cut my cholesterol meds in half. I anticipate I will be able to discontinue them soon altogether. I am so thankful that something shook me up. It made me realize the seriousness of my health and the responsibility I had to my health. I’ll share more later on what I eat each day. If you are interested, I can share some recipes too.
What good has come out of this pandemic for you? What have you learned?
