Linda Middlesworth

Many people need help with their food choices to help them heal or lose weight. Many give up before even trying. For those who have not studied nutrition academically or are not aware of which foods heal us and which harm us, it is easy to become dismayed and give up. It’s not your fault.

Thirty-three years ago, I thought I knew how to care for myself. I was an aerobic instructor, a personal trainer and a graphic designer. I thought I was eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits and veggies, chicken, fish, cheese, ice cream, popcorn and a little wine. At age 44 I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, obesity, pre-diabetes, and heart disease. I was 50 pounds overweight. I was angry with myself that I became a fat lady! My doctor had ordered me to have a series of radiation treatments or have thyroidectomy. I had one radiation treatment killing part of my thyroid. Then I heard about Dr. John McDougall. I knew now exactly what I must do to heal. Had I met Dr. McDougall one week earlier, I would still have a completely functioning thyroid. I refused any more radiation or a thyroidectomy. I followed Dr. John McDougall’s whole plant food, starch based, oil free diet and I am cancer free for 33 years, no longer obese, or have heart disease. I knew now it was not my fault.

I’m 77 and teach aerobics and personal train. I decided to pass my new knowledge forward to others and became Certified from Dr. Neal Barnard’s Food for Life Nutrition and Cooking Program. I give classes in Cancer, Diabetes, and Kickstart to state organizations, colleges and businesses. I’m certified in Dr. John McDougall’s Starch Solution and Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s Plant Nutrition, Cornell University. To help people individually, I started my VeganMentor health coaching business in 2012. www.veganmentor.com.

My message to you is that, if you are stuck with an overweight body and or have a chronic disease, it is simply not your fault. Most chronic diseases are reversible by your food choices and your doctor was probably not trained in American College of Lifestyle Medicine! Your doc usually knows what pills to prescribe and which surgeries to perform. These treat the symptoms, but not the cause. If you leave the faucet running, of course the water will overflow even if you mop as fast as you can. We need to turn off the faucet to stop the problem. Even if you have a genetic condition, you can help reverse many diseases by turning off your genes with your food choices. Read: “Turn off Your Fat Genes”, Dr. Neal Barnard. People think that, because their mom or dad had diabetes, obesity or a heart issue, that they will too. We now know that it is the same harmful recipes that are passed down through the generations that cause many chronic diseases. Your mom and dad did not do this on purpose. They just did not know.

It took one week for me to go from plant based to being a vegan animal rights activist. I found out how dairy cows had their babies stolen at birth, were raped, and then hooked up to painful robotic milking machine everyday. When they were low producers, they were strung up by their leg, had their throats slit and ended up in the grocery store as hamburger. If you were not aware of this horror, it’s not your fault.

When people tell me that they are on a vegan diet, I dispel that idea. Vegan is not a diet. It is a philosophy and a way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as possible, all forms of exploitations of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better!” Human food is plant food of fruits, vegetables, beans and grains, nuts and seeds. Now you know, you can jump in.

Everyone would be eating plants if they observed the killing machine. If I could take a mother and her 3-year-old to a slaughterhouse and have them pick out which part of the cow or chicken they wanted for dinner; I can guarantee you that both would be plant based and or vegan after seeing the atrocities.

It’s not your fault if you don’t realize that 87% of our climate change and greenhouse gases are due to animal agriculture. Al Gore, Bill Gates, and Paul Hawken conveniently do not talk about this! We are removing land to grow and kill animals and killing all the marine life from our oceans. Our planet can not survive if we continue to eat animals. Read this first truthful book: “ Food is Climate” by Glen Merzer. It’s not your fault if you did not know. I had to be 44 before I found out!

If you need help transitioning to a whole food plant diet and or becoming vegan, please contact me at veganmentor@gmail.com or text me at 916-798-5516. For our cruelty free, healthy dog food, go to v-dog.com.

Linda Middlesworth, 916-798-5516 - Cancer Project, Food for Life Instructor - Certified Personal- Trainer/Aerobic Instructor Certified Plant Nutrition, Cornell University