One of the inspirations I haven’t shared with you yet is John Robbins, the co-founder of the Food Revolution Network. Robbins is famous for being heir to Baskin Robbins and turning down becoming the boss of this large ice cream company. Instead he became a health-through-food guru and author of many books. I heard his fascinating story a few times so was keen to follow his masterclass this week.
Here’s a summary of this useful and interesting 1,5 hour webcast. You’re welcome đ
As made clear by his background, refusing to work for a company that contributes to poor health, John Robbins is on a mission to help slash risks of chronic illnesses (heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, dementiaâŚ) by 80% by doing four simple things:
- not smoking
- maintaining a healthy weight
- exercising regularly
- and most importantly by eating a healthful diet.
In his masterclass John, assisted by his son Ocean Robbins, deconstructs what he calls four lies (I prefer the word “myths”) and presents ten keys to a healthy diet. Here they come…
Four Myths
Myth #1: Healthy Eating iIs Confusing & Complicated
True, there’s a lot of confusion that is relayed by the media and sustained by all sorts of fads.
What constitutes a healthy diet is quite well understood and quite simple: eat more plants and fewer animal products, hy away from ultra-processed foods and eat whole foods.
Plant-based foods provide all that you need: fibers, anti-oxidants, essential fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals⌠all sorts of ingredients that are essential to your health.
Each body is different, however, so your diet needs to be fined tuned to your self.
Myth #2: It Canât Bbe Real If My Doctor Doesnât Know It
Surely you recognize this one! Doctors are not trained as dietitians and traditional medical education gives little attention to nutrition. Your general practitioner is trained to act as a firefighter. They look at curing your symptoms instead of preventing them in the first place.
Part of the responsibility is yours. Look at how to prevent illnesses through healthy habits rather than focusing on curing them.
Myth #3: Healthy Food Is Boring
It’s not for nothing that your kids prefer a “Happy meal” above broccoli. Indeed, peopleâs association with âgood for you foodâ is that itâs unpleasant. And usually we associate food that is enjoyable with âbad for you foodâ. Unfortunately the food industry spends billions of euros every year on developing, producing and advertising foods that play on our natural desires for short-term pleasure.
It is high time that we realize that highly processed, fatty, salty and sugary foods are just as unhealthy and addictive as tobacco. The sugar tax may come, but you donât have to wait. We all need to learn how to prepare and enjoy delicious AND healthy food.
Myth #4: Youâre Too Small To Make A Contribution
Shifting to a (mostly) plant-based diet is good for you as well as for our planet. We know that 80% of the worldâs agricultural land is used to produce meat, eggs and dairy products. The industrial food processes, from agriculture, the ensuing production and logistics that lead to processed food on your plate, have a great impact on our environment. These processes contribute to the destruction of ecosystems, the emission of greenhouse gas, climate change and in the long run they impact our ability to grow food.
For more information about this, read this article and study by the University of Oxford: âPlant-based diets could save millions of lives and dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissionsâ.
Something Robbins said truly amazed me: what do you think would happen if the entire world went vegan? Just bear with Robbins for this example. About how much land would become available?
The answer: we could AND feed the entire human population AND free up an area equivalent to…
- the whole of Europe,
- the United States,
- India,
- Australia,
- and China combined!
You can make a huge difference on some of these challenging issues by eating less animal products and more plants.
Ten Keys to a Healthy Diet
John and Ocean Robbins then turned to share tips, the â10 Mighty Plant-Powered Keys.â
Key #1: Eat REAL Food
This means avoid the ultra-processed food-like substances that make up most of the calories in the modern, Western diet. When you eat fresh whole food, you help your body to have all the nourishment you need.
Key #2: Eat… Not Too Much
Robbins claims that the average American eats 500 calories too much on any given day. So, eat plenty of fibers because it provides a sense of bulk that leads your belly tell your brain âIâm fullâ. Eat a nutrient-rich diet: with a whole-food diet you donât eat excess calories.
Key #3: Eat Mostly Plants
Vegetables and fruits are the most concentrated sources of the nutrients your body needs in order to thrive.
Key #4: Drink Coffee
Surprisingly to me, people who drink coffee tend to live longer, to have sharper brains with lower rates of Alzheimerâs, to be less likely to get type 2 diabetes, and to have lower rates of obesity, heart disease, and cancer. Another good piece of news: decaf has about 75% of the antioxidants of regular coffee. Oh yeah: lose the milk/ cream and sugar!
Key #5: Eat Mushrooms
It seems like all the kinds of edible mushrooms contain bioactive compounds that have anticancer effects, especially hormone-related cancers such as breast- and prostate cancer. They inhibit an enzyme that produces estrogen in the body. They also contain lectins that help your body fight cancer cells.
Key #6: Eat Berries
Berries are good for your heart and your blood sugar balance. They contain critical minerals, vitamins, anti-oxidants and many other beneficial micronutrients. Berries are great foods for your brain, heart and overall health. Frozen berries also have these benefits.
Key #7: Eat Beans
… and other legumes like split peas and lentils. They are a critical source of protein. Theyâre also one of the leading sources of fiber in the human diet. They are also a rich source of vitamins and minerals, including folate, iron, magnesium, potassium and choline.
Good tip: to prevent gas soak your legumes for at least 24 hours before cooking them. Change the water and rinse them a couple of times. Cook them very well so theyâre soft before you eat them
Key #8: Eat Greens
Any greens by any means necessary, of any sort: broccoli, Brussel sprouts, kale, roman lettuce, spinach, cabbage⌠We all know we need to eat greens. They are plenty of studies that demonstrate their health benefits to prevent all kinds of illnesses. Just do it, get used to their tastes!
Key # 9: Use Spices and Herbs
Of course spices present great culinary interest. Extraordinarily hundreds of studies have demonstrated that spices, like turmeric, garlic, basil, ginger, pepper, parsley⌠may help prevent Alzheimerâs and other forms of dementia and can help reduce unhealthy levels of inflammation, protect against heavy metal toxicity, and even lower heart disease risk.
Key #10: Create Good Habits
The key to success is to create systems and norms so that when youâre taking the path of least resistance, youâre moving towards greater health. Time, money, social pressure can be experienced as major thresholds to creating those habits. Please try my life hacks, like how to prep your meals, or how to create plant-based umami.
And so they end this list: John and Ocean Robbins invite you to join their course entitled Plant-Powered & Thriving.
A lot of good stuff in this masterclass. After the useful data tips the masterclass turns to testimonials; people who followed the course and who explain how they changed their diet and adopted healthy habits. Some lost a great deal of weight and maintained their ideal weight. Others saw chronic diseases disappear or levels of medication dropped. More energy, clarity of thinking, better sleep are also mentioned as benefits.
In the testimonials people mention that sometimes significant changes appear within days. Based on my own change experience (not with the course) I can believe that.
Whether or not feel like following this 6-week course, I encourage you to adopt the 10 keys to a healthy diet! Go ahead, read my blogs and let me know if and how I can help you.