I began experimenting with my diet in my 20s following my mom’s breast cancer diagnosis. Breast cancer was a far less common diagnosis at the time. I couldn’t shake the nagging question of why. Why did this happen to my mom? There was no family history. Was it the environment?

In 1994, the incidence rate was 129 per 100,000 or 1 in 20 women [source]. Today, approximately 1 in 8 U.S. women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetime, with only 5-10% of these diagnoses linked to gene mutations [source]. This is a 150% increase rate. Other chronic illnesses have followed suit. Diabetes has increased from 3.7 per 1000 in 1994 to 1 in 10 in 2023 [source, source] which is an increase of 170%. Deaths from cardiovascular disease have increased 60% globally over the last 30 years [source]. 

So I turned to what was in my control, my diet.

In the ‘90s the press began to share coverage of factory farms, and the use of hormones in factory farming [read more]. This did not sound good to me. I decided to remove meat from my diet.

Several years later, after moving from the Washington, D.C. area to San Francisco, California, I picked up the book Total Health Makeover by Marilu Henner. This was now the late ‘90s. One chapter in the book discusses dairy in detail. It made sense to me that our digestive system was not made for the consumption of the milk of another animal. No other animal consumes another animal’s milk. Why would we be different? And why cows? I decided to experiment with removing dairy from my diet.

This lasted a while, but in my mid-30s, I was eating cheese again. Wine and cheese was a staple with friends. In the early 2000s, I tried the South Beach Diet. I lost a few pounds and later regained the weight. Growing up, I had a strong dislike for milk and relatively little interest in eggs. A standard breakfast was peanut butter toast. After eating eggs multiple times per week while on the South Beach Diet, I became completely turned off by the thought of eating eggs. A few years later, I removed cheese (and all dairy) from my diet again. While I wasn’t eating cheese, drinking milk, or eating eggs, I wasn’t strict about sharing the occasional non-vegan dessert at restaurants with family and friends.  I was pescetarian for several years with plants at the center of my diet, eating fish at restaurants and while visiting family and friends.

Fast forward to moving to New York City when I was 41. In 2015, a few weeks before my birthday I decided to experiment once again by removing the last animal product in my diet: fish. My biggest worry in making this decision was the impact to eating socially. Though I enjoyed eating fish, I wasn’t concerned I’d miss the taste as much as the experience of sharing sushi and other dishes with family and friends.

There were stumbles the first few months, each was specific to sharing food with friends at restaurants. This transition period was part of my journey and is common. As I became more and more comfortable with my decision to be fully plant-based (I was feeling and seeing results!), I felt empowered to stand firm in what and how I was eating. I was fortunate in that my friends and family were supportive from the beginning, any pressure or desire I felt to share food in those early months was of my own doing.

What changed after transitioning to a fully plant-based, whole-food diet?

>> I’m happier and my mood is more even.

>> The acne I’d struggled with since I was a teen is gone. Acne I’d been told by a top dermatologist was caused by my body, not by my diet. Antibiotics I was prescribed as a teen didn’t work. Accutane didn’t work.

>> My digestion is better.

>> My energy is significantly higher.

>> After weight gain in college that never fully came off, I’m back down to my pre-college weight.

>> I feel mentally and physically stronger than ever at almost 52.

All from eating plants.

You can do this too.