Start Anywhere
Welcome to Plant Based Santa Barbara! I’ve created this site to be a community-based resource for loving and living plant-based foods. As you will see, if you visit my ABOUT page, plant-based living has been a super personal and powerful transition for me, and one that did not happen overnight.
Since being on this new plant-based journey, there is a lot that’s surprised me. I’ve learned that plant-based nutrition is about taking your very best shot at a long-healthy life. There are no guarantees in life, but plant-based living is about controlling what you can control - what you eat - and allowing food to guide your health, rather than relying on a "safety net" that your genes have already entirely pre-determined your future and medicine will fix anything that ails you.
Eating more fruits and veggies isn't extreme. Reducing or eliminating animal-based foods isn't extreme. Chronic disease is extreme. Being at the mercy of medicine is extreme. Getting to the point of surgical interventions would be extreme. Right? Shifting (however big or small) to plant-based eating is about prevention and nourishment. Not dieting. And actually, in general on Plant Based Santa Barbara, I’m going to do my best to pull the word "diet" out of "plant-based diet," just so what we’re talking about is not confused with a fad diet. Because plant-based nutrition should not be confused with a fad diet.
The scientific and anecdotal evidence for the benefits of plant-based eating is rapidly growing as are the risks of eating high animal protein diets. If you're at all interested in exploring vegan or whole food plant-based eating, from a health perspective, there is a lot that will likely surprise you too. I encourage you to review and reflect on the resources I’m sharing on this site as a reference point to spark your own research and discussions with your healthcare provider and family, or to add to your own personal exploration. Before making dietary changes, especially if you have a health concern or condition, it is important to consult with your doctor first. But you can bring your own research and questions when working with your health care team and you are your own best health advocate.
It’s equally important to plan your approach to get a range of nutrients. Not every plant-based food is a healthy one (think potato chips and French fries, for example – but baked, steamed, or air-fried potatoes, yes please!). Our bodies thrive best when we eat the rainbow of plant-based foods (not just a few favorites). Start anywhere! One entirely plant-based meal a day or a week, Meatless Mondays, or start by cycling out certain animal-based foods one at a time and replacing them colorful plant-foods. Take steps that work best for you.
To help you think about where you might choose to start, I thought I’d take this opportunity to highlight some of the resources I’ve shared on THE BASICS page under THE ROOTS and tell you a bit about their authors. Scouring the endless sea of nutrition articles and resources (and product marketing) can make understanding what’s truly a healthy lifestyle a daunting and confusing endeavor…. Locally, particularly early on in my journey, I didn’t find a lot in the way of plant-based resources so my guides have been primarily been from outside of our community. The tides, however, are turning my friends! More resources are popping up locally and I can’t wait to highlight and share these with you too. But a great first step of action in getting to know plant-based nutrition theory is getting to know the basics and building your resource library from there, so here we go :)... Following are some really great quick, go-to resources now online that can give you a well-rounded introduction if you want to know the basics but aren’t quite ready to pick up a book yet.
The Power Plate by the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) & PCRM’s Vegetarian Starter Kit
The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is like the north star of plant-based nutrition. PCRM’s community includes some of the most knowledgeable and committed promoting preventative, nutrition-based medicine and they fiercely advocate for new, better models in research that eliminate the exploitation of animals. I’ve seen PCRM President Dr. Neal Barnard speak on their mission, and he presents this powerful cyclical connection between how the animal-based foods we eat can make us sick… which makes us more dependent on medical intervention and research… increasing our “reliance” on animal-based studies to solve these pressing and complex health issues (and why these types of studies aren’t always likely the most applicable to human health)… and how the more we objectify animals for our benefit, the more this continues to feed into the mentality that eating animals is ok and necessary, which coutninues to build our likelihood for developing a host of chronic diseases. So, you get the idea, it's sort of this cyclical trap. By changing the way we eat, we could potentially save ourselves and save the animals unnecessary harm. The two articles posted above and in THE BASICS are really comprehensive ways to help you frame how to approach a whole food, plant-based diet.
The China Study by T. Colin Campbell PhD and Thomas Campbell MD was the first book I referenced for understanding chronic disease and nutrition, and once I saw how important this lifestyle change would be, I signed up for a three-part course through T. Colin Campbell’s Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell to make sure I understood this perspective inside and out. I think I spent the entire three months with my eyes stretched in shock. And what I learned underscored what I was experiencing. The Center for Nutrition Studies website gives the full story on T. Colin Campbell’s research on nutrition from his background growing up on a dairy farm, to his early research that spurred him to dig deeper into connections he saw between animal-based protein and the stimulation of cancer growth, and his full realm of research that demonstrates the very strong association between what we eat and many chronic diseases (click here and here for background on the study and Dr. Campbell, respectively). The China Study itself is a really important read, but these resources on the Center’s website will give you a quick-read guide to get you going on how to get started eating more plant-based.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet & Your Daily Whole Food Plant Based Guide by Dr. Rosane Oliveira/UC Davis Integrative Medicine
UC Davis’s Integrative Medicine department is committed to promoting a whole-person approach to medicine and specifically focusing on plant-based nutrition which they “believe is the number one way to successfully prevent, halt or reverse serious health conditions such as obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” Dr. Rosane Olivera, the founder of the department, has a great public-centered blog with easy-peasy recipes to enjoy plant-based foods.
The “world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals,” the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, recently published a position paper on the benefits of vegetarian, including vegan, diets. (Happy dance!!) Following is their position statement, but check out the full article in the link above for their full position.
“It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes. Plant-based diets are more environmentally sustainable than diets rich in animal products because they use fewer natural resources and are associated with much less environmental damage.”
VIDEO: Preventing & Treating the Most Dreaded Diseases with Diet by Michael Greger M.D. FACLM, NutritionFacts.org
And last, but most very certainly not least, is NutritionFacts.org under the leadership of Michael Greger MD FACLM. NutritionFacts.org has an endless supply of nutrition based videos where Dr. Greger and his team dig through the lastest in research to find WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY! His site is nothing short of awesome and his video, “Preventing & Treating the Most Dreaded Diseases with Diet” demonstrates how research shows that many of the most common chronic, deadly diseases could be prevented and treated with diet. Amazing. It’s a great intro to the science behind plant-based nutrition and Dr. Greger’s got his own style (and book! “How not to Die”) that helps you easily guide through some complicated topics. (And if you appreciated this video, here’s one of Dr. Greger's earlier videos along similar lines that you may find interesting too, Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death)
Interested in a place to start but need more of a roadmap? Try a 21-day challenge! PCRM and UC Davis both have 21-Day programs that can help get you rolling.
I can’t thank you enough for your interest in Plant-Based Santa Barbara and for starting here, on our first VINE post! To keep it up, come back anytime or sign up for our VINE e-newsletter. If you want to dig deeper into reading, please check out TOOLKIT for a compilation of books of various perspectives on plant-based nutrition and eating. The first books I read in transitioning to a plant-based diet were The China Study by T. Colin Campbell PhD and Thomas Campbell MD, The Veganist by Kathy Freston, and a host of resources from the PCRM. Each of these were eye popping and heart hugging information trips on why and how eating plant-based can be an intensely important decision for the future of your health, your family’s health, and the planet. But the library of options is huge now, and TOOLKIT can help you explore these and other books that may be of interest to you.
To further kick off the blog, I’ll be starting a series of “Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants” interwoven with posts on local eats and treats, local shopping, cooking ideas, local plant-based resources, eating with your Little Earthlings, health topics, impact topics, and more. Want to know more about the documentaries shared in THE BASICS? More to come on Forks Over Knives and What the Health in my next post kicking off “Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants - #1 Because Plants Have Your Back!”
With gratitude,
Beth