refined-food-based diet to a plant-based, nutrient-rich whole-food diet. In the simplest sense, the
preceding sentence by itself should be reason enough, as you can probably imagine the results of a
nutrient-poor diet can’t be good, and the results of a nutrient-rich diet must be better.
Nonetheless, the balance of this book will help reinforce your decision to go nutrient rich with
many solid and specific reasons. Furthermore, there are other books that dive deeper into subjects
ranging from nutrition and health to humane, environmental and sustainability concerns. Those
books will make the case that much stronger still. Consider this book your launch pad.
To start you off with a few ideas for why YOU might want to make the switch...
You no longer want to feel toxic, as if your body is overwhelmed with food and with
substances that don’t belong there. You may want to get free of addictive impulses and
withdrawal symptoms. You are completely sick and tired of dieting, of having to constantly lose weight,
wishing and thinking about losing weight, and dealing with this distraction in your life. Yes,
it’s a distraction, because weight loss is not a life goal but an attempt to deal with a
symptom—the most obvious symptom of a lifestyle gone awry. You want to get healthier because you are feeling tired, and are tired of getting sick.
Maybe you heard someone say that they don’t get regular colds, or find yourself admiring
someone who has glowing skin and seems to function at higher energy levels that you do.
Maybe you've noticed that they eat in a healthy way and love it, and you say, “I want that
too.” You have been diagnosed with hypertension, pre-diabetes, diabetes, arthritis, heart
disease or cancer, and want to prevent the initiation or progression of any more disease
processes, lifestyle-induced or not. Maybe you've decided you want your obituary to read
differently—not “died of a heart attack” but rather “reversed heart disease, inspired others,
and passed at the ripe old age of 100 years old.” You want to be around for your kids and grandkids, and not burden your spouse or
children with your poor health. Today, more and more people are taking this into
consideration when forming relationships and improving the ones they are in, or as they
plan for retirement. You want to increase your personal performance by cleaning out your body, fueling it up
right, and improving your energy levels and endurance. You may want to try a new sport or
advance to a new level in a sport you love. You may want to age slower and look younger—not by having to cover up your skin with
makeup from the outside (non-toxic makeup is always nice, regardless) but by slowing
down the aging process. You want to beautify your skin—by not bathing your cells in