244 THE (HINA STUDYegg, don't worry about it. These quantities, very likely, are nutritionally
unimportant. Even more importantly, the ability to relax about very
minor quantities of animal-based foods makes applying this diet much
easier-especially when eating out or buying already-prepared foods.
While I recommend that you not worry about small quantities of
animal products in your food, I am not suggesting that you deliberately
plan to incorporate small portions of meat into your daily diet. My rec-
ommendation is that you try to avoid all animal-based products.
There are three excellent reasons to go all the way. First, following
this diet requires a radical shift in your thinking about food. It's more
work to just do it halfway. If you plan for animal-based products, you'll
eat them-and you'll almost certainly eat more than you should. Second,
you'll feel deprived. Instead of viewing your new food habit as being able
to eat all the plant-based food you want, you'll be seeing it in terms of
having to limit yourself, which is not conducive to staying on the diet
long-term.
If your friend had been a smoker all of his or her life and looked to
you for advice, would you tell them to cut down to only two cigarettes
a day, or would you tell them to quit smoking all together? It's in this
way that I'm telling you that moderation, even with the best intentions,
sometimes makes it more difficult to succeed.CAN YOU DO THIS?
For most Americans, the idea of giving up virtually all meat products-
including beef, chicken, fish, cheese, milk and eggs-seems impossible.
You might as well ask Americans to stop breathing. The whole idea
seems strange, fanatical or fantastic.
This is the biggest obstacle to the adoption of a plant-based diet: most
people who hear about it don't seriously consider it, despite the truly
impressive health benefits.
If you are one of these people-if you are curious about these find-
ings but know in your heart that you will never be able to give up
meat-then I know that no amount of talk will ever convince you to
change your mind.
You have to try it.
Give it one month. You've been eating cheeseburgers your whole life;
a month without them won't kill you.
A month isn't enough time to give you any long-term benefits, but it
is long enough for you to discover four things: