Chronic Disease and Food
How whole plant foods heal
Food is medicine! Eating a variety of colorful, nutrient-dense plant foods can help us take control of our health. We can reduce our risk of getting diseases, and — in many cases — stop and reverse the progression of existing disease.
“Nutrition that is truly beneficial for one chronic disease will support health across the board.”
— T. Colin Campbell, PhD
Diabetes
Most people living with diabetes believe that limiting carbs will help manage their condition — but it’s actually extra fat in our diet, in our bloodstream, and in our cells that prevents insulin from doing its job.
Naturally low in fats, especially saturated fat, a whole food, plant-based lifestyle helps lower blood sugar, improve insulin sensitivity, and support a healthy body weight for all types of diabetes.
Heart Disease
The leading cause of death across the globe, cardiovascular disease includes many conditions that affect our heart muscle, coronary arteries, blood vessels, and circulatory system. Plaque, or fatty deposits, build up in the arteries, causing damage to this complex system.
Eating whole plant foods prevents and reverses heart disease by lowering cholesterol, blood pressure, and inflammation while making it easier to maintain a healthy weight. It’s a win in more ways than one!
Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease occurs when the kidneys are damaged, weakening their ability to filter our blood effectively. According to the Centers for Disease Control, as many as 9 in 10 people with chronic kidney disease do not know they have it.
The two leading causes of kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure. Thankfully, eating whole plant foods reduces our risk of developing both of these conditions and can slow the progression of kidney disease — and even improve kidney function.
Cancer
Cancer occurs when abnormal cells develop, divide, and grow uncontrollably, causing tissue damage in the body. While some cancers are caused by inherited genes, in most cancers environmental and lifestyle factors lead to DNA changes in our cells. And our body’s ability to repair DNA damage and prevent its progression can be helped or hindered by what we eat.
Whole plant foods contain antioxidants, dietary fiber, and phytochemicals known to fight cancer. They are also anti-inflammatory, helping the body create a proper immune response and prevent the creation of new blood vessels that feed cancer.
Autoimmune Disease
Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues, perceiving them as a threat. In each autoimmune disease, different (and often multiple) parts of the body are affected, like the myelin sheaths protecting our nerve cells in multiple sclerosis, the pancreatic beta cells that create insulin in Type 1 diabetes, and joint tissue in rheumatoid arthritis.
Good nutrition reduces our risk for these diseases by promoting a healthy intestinal lining, which serves as a barrier to foreign cells and proteins entering the bloodstream. Whole food, plant-based nutrition can also improve and alleviate symptoms by reducing inflammation and creating changes to the gut microbiome.
Foods for Healing & Resilience
While shifting to a whole food, plant-based diet helps many people reduce or eliminate both symptoms and markers of disease, there are some plant foods that pack a bigger punch.
Here are some of our favorite ideas:
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Daily Dozen Checklist
Michael Greger, MD -
G-BOMBS
Joel Fuhrman, MD -
Prescription for Green Leafy Vegetables
The Esselstyn Family -
Hyper-Nourishment Protocol
Brooke Goldner, MD
