Only 1 in 10 Americans are eating the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. It makes sense. Vegetables are not as tasty as other foods.
Alisia, a nutritionist and mother of 6 children, found herself feeding her kids mac and cheese and chicken nuggets often despite knowing that she should be offering her kids better options. It is just easy, and raising kids is hard enough.
But then, on October 1st 2019, Alisia’s perspective on food changed forever when she found herself in the ER as her young 37 year old husband was suffering a stroke. They spent 3 days in the hospital doing multiple tests that came back negative, no genetic condition, heart arrhythmia, or family history caused this heart-wrenching episode.The severity of the stroke affected his vision, which took five months to recover fully. The only direction they were given by his doctors was that from now on, he had to follow a heart healthy diet. He was given a piece of paper that said he had to avoid trans fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, alcohol, and to eat more fiber.
So what is the key to a heart healthy diet? It can be so confusing. Alisia was overwhelmed when she received that paper from her husband’s doctor. She dived deep into the research to find the best way to follow a diet that would help keep her husband living for as long as possible.
What she found was a secret that no one is talking about. When most people want to lose weight or get healthy, protein or cutting carbs is usually the topic for discussion. But they are missing the bigger picture. Because the secret is in the plants.
Fiber is only found in plants. 97% of Americans over consume protein, yet just about 5% of Americans eat enough fiber. And eating enough fiber plays a huge role in our long-term health. When we eat fiber, our gut microbiome produces short-chain fatty acids, and these SCFA then go through our body and help prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and even leaky gut. “We would all do our bodies a big service by eating less protein and more fiber. And we can do that by eating meat sparingly and eating more whole plant foods,” says Alisia Essig
The process of changing Alisia’s family diet, at first, was daunting. It required a lot of reading, researching, and eventually enrolling in nutritional programs. But her husband’s health improved significantly and now she wants to share the power of plants with the world. She started a nutrition consulting business called Plantwhys. Plantwhys helps individuals take simple steps forward to improve their health with a plant-based diet. Alisia offers meal plans, courses and group coaching programs to help individuals transition to a plant-based diet with confidence and competence.
“Because eating meat sparingly and eating more whole plant foods is the best thing you can do to prevent chronic disease. A heart healthy diet is a plant-based diet. But it isn’t just heart healthy–it is lung healthy, diabetes healthy, auto-immune disease healthy, cancer prevention healthy, Alzheimer’s healthy, and not to mention animal and planet healthy.” Alisia Essig states
You can follow Alisia on Instagram or check out her blog for free tips and tricks in trying to eat more whole plant foods so that you too can unlock the secrets to longevity. She offers meal plans, courses and coaching to help you eat more plants without turning their lifestyle upside down. Check out her free guide, “18 Easy Ways to Add More Plants to Your Diet.”
