two Minutes

talking points to Introduce your patients to benefits of Whole Food Plant Based Eating:

“The quickest, most efficient way to improve your diabetes, hypertension and health is to eat mostly plants.

This means more vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains…. and less meat, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy.

Here is a card with the top ten foods to eat and where to find science based nutrition information if you are interested.”

 

two caveats.

 

“It is so powerful that even if you ate mostly plants for 3 weeks, your sugars and blood pressure could decrease and you may need less medicine for diabetes and hypertension. So if you decide to do this, make sure you tell your doctor. Check your sugars and tell your primary care doctor if your sugars are decreasing.” (Anderson, Am J Clin Nutr)

“If you eat mostly plants then you likely need a B12 supplement - ask your doctor to check your B12 level.”.

Why Should i take 1-2 minutes to talk to a patient about eating more plants?

Reduce diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s.

 

  • Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US. We know that:

    Saturated fat (which comes from animal products) raises LDL cholesterol which results in cardiovascular diseases.

    The earlier patients lower their LDL cholesterol, the lower their risk of heart disease.

    Eating many fewer animal products and many more plants results in less saturated fat intake, lower LDL and is a choice our patients have 3 times a day to reduce their chronic disease and CV risk.

  • Animal agriculture is a contributor to:

    deforestation

    greenhouse gases

    water use (for the animals and the feed crops)

    fertilizer, pesticides and monoculture plantings for feed crops which are causing degradation of the soil

    We have a choice 3 times a day to choose plants and influence the environment of our planet.

    We, as health care professionals, have tremendous agency to inform our patients about the benefit of people reducing their animal product intake and replacing it with plants.

First Visit

 

“Eating mostly plants - that is vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains - puts your body on a path to better blood sugars, less inflammation, healthier blood vessels. This leads to less diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, cancer and dementia." (Ref.: A)

“Eating mostly animal products - that is meat, chicken, eggs and dairy - puts you on a path to worse diabetes, high blood pressure, and more inflammation, narrow blood vessels and higher risk of heart attacks and strokes.” (Ref.: B)

“If you are interested, here is information on the top foods to eat and where to find science based nutrition information.” Offer 8X11 two sided printed handout on cardstock - see Print Resources. (Adapted from foodrevolution.org/longevity and Smartphone App: Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen.)

 

“go to the website MorePlantsMD.com to see easy and quick ways to start.”

“Watch the Netflix documentary ‘Game Changers’ to get science backed information to see if this is for you.”

follow up visits

 
 

“We talked about eating more plants … how is that going?”

“How many days in the week do you eat no meat, chicken, fish, eggs or dairy?”

  • “Do you eat oatmeal? Try oatmeal and berries 3 times a week. Do you eat beans? Think vegetarian chili, black bean tacos, black bean burgers. You can start with 1 tbsp. a day if your gut is not used to beans. At the meals you eat beans, you will get enough protein, so you will not need meat, chicken, fish, eggs or dairy.”

  • “That is good. Patients who make an impact on their blood sugar and blood pressure usually need to get to 3-4 days a week of whole food plant based. Aim for vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains 5 days a week, and small portions of animal products for 1 meal on Saturday and 1 on Sunday if you would like.”

 

“eating meat today is like smoking in the 1950’s“

— Michael Greger, MD