Whole Foods offers a practical approach to adopting vegan diet

neal-barnard-vegan-diet.JPGDr. Neal Barnard

The same week I heard from dozens of people who were angry that their access to deadly trans fats will be halted in Cleveland eateries starting in 2013, I witnessed a startlingly different attitude toward healthy eating in an auditorium at John Carroll University.

There, on a cold and rainy Tuesday night last month, a standing-room-only crowd of at least 300 people showed up to hear a vegan doctor speak about his new book.

I wasn't the only one surprised. Representatives from Whole Foods Market, who co-sponsored the talk by Dr. Neal Barnard, founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, had gotten calls from people who couldn't attend, chastising them for holding the event during Passover and just before Easter.

"And then we had this weather," said Lisa Sands, Whole Foods' marketing director for the region. "So I was a little worried about turnout."

But when people began lining up at 5:30 for the 7 p.m. talk and demo of vegan cooking by Whole Foods chefs, Sands realized her concern was unwarranted.

Here's the thing: Becoming a vegan and following a wholly plant-based diet may be all the rage in some circles (especially among celebrities who want to stay fighting-trim), but giving up all animal products would mean a pretty radical lifestyle change for most of us. So Barnard, through his book and website, suggests a less-scary 21-day tryout. He says that's long enough to experience the weight loss and energy gain many crave.

Previous stories

May 13:

April 26:

April 23:

April 19:

April 12:

April 1:

March 15:

March 4:

Jan. 4:

May 4, 2010:

June 1:

Whole Foods stepped up to offer a way to make it easier, and 60 people signed up to participate in a three-week "support" plan, starting the following Monday. Ellen Darby, the healthy-eating specialist at for Whole Foods here, has guided the group through the immersion by offering informational talks -- emphasis on the practical -- each Monday, through mid-May. Whole Foods also supplied participants with easy-to-follow recipes and shopping lists. Prepared foods, made from recipes in the book, were available to purchase. Group members offered each other support.

Because of the high interest, another three-week vegan kickoff will be offered starting Thursday, June 16 at the Whole Foods store in Woodmere, says Sand. (For more information, email Darby or sign up at the store, 27249 Chagrin Blvd., Woodmere.)

This wasn't the first diet-book collaboration for Whole Foods, which has markets in University Heights and Woodmere. The company teamed up with triathlete and firefighter Rip Esselstyn on his "Engine 2" diet book, which also features a heart-healthy vegan plan. Esselstyn's dad, retired Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Caldwell Esselstyn, even rated a few pages in Barnard's book for his research on how plant-based diets can reverse atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Though retired as a surgeon, Esselstyn is still on staff at Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute, specializing in prevention and disease reversal.

This year, the Whole Foods chain is going even further with the Esselstyn book; it recently licensed "Engine 2" as a brand. The foods in the line are vegan and low in sugar and salt.

When it comes to vegan and plant-based diets, four of the best-known names (in this country) are Barnard, Esselstyn, Dean Ornish and T. Colin Campbell, whose book "The China Study" is another hot seller.

The latter book had a big influence on Dr. Lu-Jean Feng, the well-known cosmetic surgeon with the Pepper Pike clinic of the same name. For years she had the on-site chef at her clinic prepare organic meals for employees. After reading "The China Study," she had the chef switch to only vegan dishes.

"I decided to become a vegan because of the overwhelming scientific and epidemiological evidence that a low-fat and low-glycemic-index vegan diet prevents cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes and obesity," Feng says. "It's nutrient dense and full of antioxidants. This way of eating has improved my overall digestion of food, my energy and my feeling of wellness."

Adds the surgeon, "The heart of preventive medicine is diet. We are too medication-oriented, when it is food that can be a cure for many conditions. If a diet that can cure coronary artery disease and Type 2 diabetes exists, why not use it to prevent these illnesses before they ever surface?"

Getting off the sodium train

Of course, lots of people are trying to get healthier by shifting their eating habits gradually.

Many start by trying to wean themselves away from fast food, but find giving up the convenience difficult. So, they switch to alternatives like Subway, which may explain why this sandwich chain now has more shops worldwide than McDonald's. (The marketing genius of sharing Jared's weight-loss story probably didn't hurt either.)

Certainly, ordering a turkey sandwich with veggies and light-or-no-mayo or oil, is a healthier choice than buying a fast-food cheeseburger. But when you're dealing with processed foods, you're still talking about a lot of sodium.

It's not only the sandwich meat but the cheese and, surprisingly, even the bread that is loaded with it. There are at least 1,200 milligrams worth in a typical Subway sandwich, and that's without add-ons like olives, pickles and dressing.

Sodium has been a hot-button issue ever since the new U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines issued earlier this year strongly recommended that Americans cut way back on their consumption, as it's a root cause of heart disease.

So Subway has become an early responder. After reducing sodium in its stores in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, it has now done it in the United States.

Before, a typically decked-out Subway sandwich would have offered 1,500 milligrams of sodium -- the maximum the USDA says we should eat in a whole day. Now, sodium in its overall sandwich line has been cut by 15 percent, compared to what it was two years ago. Even better, the company has a "Fresh Fit" sandwich line with even less sodium -- a 28 percent reduction. Subway's 6-inch sandwich contains 737 milligrams of sodium.

That's progress.