About ten years ago, after reading 40 or 50 books on the “optimal” diet for humans, I had a “blinding flash of the obvious” one weekend in the spring of 2003. My conclusion was: “Oh my goodness–we’re eating the wrong food!” As you might expect, Mother Nature provided the “right” foods for all of the millions of species, including humans. And she intended for us to eat primarily whole plants–fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. As close to the ground as possible–still in nature’s package.

But, in just the past hundred years, we have drifted far from that “natural” diet for our species. We now derive most of our calories from meat, dairy, eggs, and highly processed carbohydrates. Nowadays, we get less than ten percent of our calories from the “right” foods that Nature intended for us to eat exclusively. Largely as a result of eating the wrong food, the cost of health care in the United States has spiraled out of control. We know that this trend is unsustainable–as are many other global issues that are driven by what we eat.

Have you heard about the gross inefficiency of our meat-based diet when it comes to the use of water, land and energy? On a per calorie basis it requires at least ten times as much of all three to produce meat & dairy foods as it does to produce plant-based foods. Just think about the implications on such global issues as world hunger, global warming, the energy crisis, and a clean & abundant water supply. What we have now is simply unsustainable for a host of reasons. And you can make a difference—by choosing to add lots of whole plants to your diet. Since 2003, I went from less than 20 percent of my calories from whole plants to over 80 percent today…and I have been rewarded with vibrant health.

Not necessarily vegetarian or vegan, I am talking about maximizing the percent of your calories from whole plants. Not only will your own health improve, but you will also be teaching your children—and their children—how to enjoy vibrant health for their entire lives. You’ll also be doing some wonderful things for the environment, the energy crisis, world hunger and so much more.

Your healthy eating will indeed do you—and a planet good!