Power On Plants | Meal Prep Ideas, Plant Based Diet, Vegan Food, Fatigue, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Healthy Food, Vegan Recipes, Weight Loss, Christian Healthcare

135: The Root Cause of Disease And How To Prevent and Reverse It

January 03, 2022 Regain Your Energy & Reclaim Your Life Episode 135
Power On Plants | Meal Prep Ideas, Plant Based Diet, Vegan Food, Fatigue, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Healthy Food, Vegan Recipes, Weight Loss, Christian Healthcare
135: The Root Cause of Disease And How To Prevent and Reverse It
Show Notes Transcript

Do you feel completely frustrated with your health?

You find yourself feeling tired, struggling with low energy, brain fog, and you just don't feel good.
 
Maybe you've even received a name.... a diagnosis for your symptoms. 

I know how overwhelming it can be, because I've been there too! Thankfully that's not my story anymore, and I don't want it to be your story either. 

Join us today as we discuss what all disease has in common, the promising findings in the scientific research that supports your ability to heal naturally, as well as some simple action steps you can easily take right now to start getting results on your path to healing! 🎉 

"Oh, but mine's the genetic kind..." Not so fast! We're talking all about that too, and the findings are probably going to surprise you!

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Jarrod:

In this episode, we're sharing the root cause of disease. And if you stick around to the very end, we'll even give you one of our top favorite tips on how to easily and quickly prepare greens and get more of them onto your plate.

Anita:

Hey there, sunshine. Welcome to the power on plants podcast. We're your host, jarred and Anita Roussel and we're absolutely head over heels for whole plant foods, and helping you navigate this incredible plant based journey. That's because our lives have been completely changed by plant based goodness, we used to struggle every day with excess pounds and low energy, vascular disease, joint pain and lack of sleep, just to name a few. And even though we're medical professionals, we still weren't getting practical answers that actually worked. So we dug into the research, we started living what we learned, and now we both have our lives back. And that's what we want for you too. The truth is, you can do this, and it's not hard, you just need a way that will bring real and lasting change. And that path, it has to be simple and enjoyable. And it's got to be delicious, too. So are you ready to live your life to the fullest, then you're in the right place, because Living without limits. That's what power on plants is all about? Simple up your chair, grab a matcha latte, and let's get started.

Jarrod:

Well, hello there, my friend. Welcome back, we are glad to have you. You're just in time we almost got started. But I told you to note, we're not starting until you get here. So you just made it.

Anita:

And I'm so glad she did. What I want to ask you as a question today, have you ever had a time in your life, when you were just completely frustrated with your health, you're tired all the time, you don't feel good, you're just low energy, your brains not working clearly can't think straight, you're dealing with some kind of disease, maybe you've got a diagnosis of high blood pressure, or high cholesterol or maybe even something like diabetes, or cancer or a digestive disorder that a doctor is given a name for. And you just feel overwhelmed and you don't know what to do? Well, we want to make you just think for a minute and take a step back from that diagnosis or those symptoms that you're dealing with right now. And I want you to think about what is disease because there's something that all diseases have in common.

Jarrod:

And that may seem like a strange thing to say, because we know that autoimmune, it's your immune system attacking you. And with diabetes, oh, my blood sugar is out of control, how could these things be related at all, but actually, when you go down to the finest level, when you look in your body, they do have the same cause it's your cells not functioning properly.

Anita:

So when your body starts having all these symptoms, and maybe it even escalates to where a doctor or a physician assistant or nurse practitioner gives you a diagnosis, then you're at this place and you're you're feeling overwhelmed and you don't know what to do. But it's just your body telling you there's something going on with the cells. They're not right, they're not able to do the job that they were created to do. And why are so many of us having that problem as earlier and earlier ages right now, what we know what nutrition science shows, what the research is showing over and over again, is one of the main causes is the food that we're putting into our bodies. Now there are other factors, there are things that you put on your skin, I mean, that can soak into your skin, your skin is one of your main organs. You know, there are environmental factors, there are things like stress, and sleep and career satisfaction and relationships with God and with other people. There are all these other things too. But what keeps coming up over and over again, is your cells are living, and they have to have the right food on a regular basis and not be bombarded by the wrong ones in order to function properly. So then that makes you wonder what in the world are the right foods? And what are the wrong ones? I mean, I just wish someone would tell me what to eat, what not to eat. And then that's the first step like you got to learn. What do I do now? Well, first step actually is realizing you have some control over it right? And you do have some control over it. I don't care if you've been told it's a genetic thing.

Jarrod:

Actually, that reminds me of an analogy where they say, genetics load the gun, but your habits pull the trigger. So your lifestyle habits are actually what caused the disease.

Anita:

So the great news there is that if your lifestyle habits have caused these changes to occur, you know what else can happen? Your lifestyle habits can absolutely reverse these things as well and time and time again, this is what the research is showing. So I don't care what diagnosis you've gotten, you don't have to own the fact that that's going to be the end of you. Because there is something that you can do in almost every situation, okay? There is always hope. You just have to know how to get those cells what they need, and how to remove from your life, the things that are putting yourself in a position where they can't function the way they were created to function. So when it comes to food, what do we know? What does research keep showing time and again, are the foods that help you to heal, that are shown to prevent and even to reverse the main causes of disease today, such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, all these different things that keep coming up again, skin disorders, digestive disorders, many types, many types of cancer, autoimmune diseases, all these things we've had reverse and help you lose weight at the same time. It's eating whole plant foods, and people hear a healthy plant based diet, you know, this is what is this and maybe you're on here trying to figure out what in the world is a healthy plant based diet, you're already interested, you already know these feeds help fight disease and help reverse disease. So you're here and you're wondering, What in the world is healthy plant based, and it seems like this big scary thing, and you feel overwhelmed. And you're thinking, I don't want to do this because all you can think of is, every other time you try to make a change like this. It involves dieting, dieting, you're hungry all the time, the food tastes like cardboard, and you're just gonna have to live in misery the rest of your life if you want to be healthy. And that's just not true. It's just not true. So whole food plant based is not this big, scary, spooky thing that is just way out there. It is eating more fruits and vegetables, the things that you've known that you needed to do all your entire life. So once you figure it out, it's more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, and legumes. Alright, then you learn what's in each of those categories is not hard. And you start adding in more of those things in a way that works for your schedule for your lifestyle. And that actually tastes good, because I'm going to tell you, it's not just about getting some new recipes, because when we started trying to eat more fruits and vegetables, and we went out there and we did this thing, I tried some really bad recipes. And I'm talking once that people are given five stars, because the things they had tried before that were so bad that even the bad ones now tasted good to them. And I don't want you to have to live that way. That is not how it should be. I grew up in my family's restaurant, I like great tasting food. But it's got to be easy. Because I'm a mom of four, I'm very busy. And it needs to be the same way for you. These are the foods that keep showing time and again and research that cause people to be able to prevent and even reverse disease over time. So it's not just about you can't eat this, you can't eat that don't eat this and that there are things you absolutely shouldn't be eating. If you really want long term health, then we know that for a fact. So with healthy plant base, we say you really want to try to stop eating or eat minimally animal products, things like dairy and meats and different things like that eggs, okay? Not good for you, they are going to clog your vessels over the long run over the long haul. You do not want that anytime you start something new look at what it does for the long haul. Can people get short term results? Because they've changed the way they're eating Absolutely. And these things, and going keto, and it sounds all the rage and great. But look how the people who have taught it or are teaching it, look how they're doing and over time, how are their vessels, what's going on, on the inside and long term is just not good. And not just your vessels, but also inside the cells. This is part of what we're talking about where it causes damage, and it kind of gums up the system to where the cells aren't functioning properly. And then that's where disease starts. Right. So our body has been made to need all these nutrients. And if you're a Bible believer, go back to Genesis and look at Genesis 129. Okay, you were originally created to ate whole plant foods. And so should it surprise us that our bodies function best on whole plant foods? No, not at all right? No. And the studies all show it. I mean, it's all backed up. So we know that it works. It works for us. It's worked for our clients, and it can work for you. But you've just got to know how do you get these foods in a way that will work with your lifestyle that actually tastes good, because then you don't have to worry about calorie counting. Because you like the foods they taste good. And also naturally, they're all lower in calories. They just are lower in calorie fiber. Right? But you got to learn how to get them where you don't get hangry you know, just eating that regular salad that you're used to thinking of is diet food, the rabbit type foods that you just eat, you know you eat those plain and you don't know how to get the filling stuff on there. If you You're eating a salad, add potatoes, add beans, add avocado, add those foods that are going to stick to your ribs and satisfy you and make you happy that you're on this journey, you know the fact that you're here and you're looking into either eating healthier vegan, because a lot of people come to health food plant based that had been vegan for a long time. And they're just not healthy, because they think vegan junk food and the process fades and they don't know. And they still had disease Exactly. Well, and that's why they're trying to do this, right. Because the more you can't, the whole plant fades, the better hole doesn't mean you can't cut it up and chop it up or blend it with other things. It's just you're eating the whole food, you're not removing some part of it, like the sugar or pressing out the oil, right. And even changing the oils has made a huge difference. For me, it's getting out those things that was huge. Getting out those things that have held you back, like the oils held me back, I was constantly shaking in my joints, I was exhausted all the time, I was sluggish, like the oil I was eating right, sick and slow. It's

Jarrod:

known to where it can actually make your blood a little bit thicker right after you eat it and for several hours thereafter.

Anita:

And it's how it makes you feel. And we've been taught we need it, you know, you think you need all these things. And growing up in the South? I mean, that's just what I thought I mean, how in the world would you fry without oil? How would you saw today? Without all? How would you day without frying right? Is that even possible? Is that even possible, and that these are the things that are causing the cellular damage, you know, when meat hits, hits, oil or any kind of heat, high heat, right? There's something that's created within that meat that is known to cause cancer. We read a study not too long ago that they did where they went into a fast food restaurant, it was one of the big chains, I don't remember the name but one of the ones that were using chicken. And every sample of chicken they tested including the chicken nuggets, which all the kids were eating had cancer causing agents in it because it did hit the heat. That's what happens when meat hits heat, especially dry heat. And so

Jarrod:

there's no special oil or any kind of special breading that will prevent that. It's just a chemical reaction that happens every time

Anita:

the mate has the heat, right every time the meat hits the heat. So we're not telling you to eat raw meat either there. But what I want you to understand is when you get these diagnosis, or when you know you've got something going on, and you're dreading a diagnosis, but you're like I was and you're going doctor to doctor trying to get a name for something so you can get a medication, I want you to think about what the medication does. And we are not against medications at all in the right situation. But if medication alone is all that you're doing, you're going to address a symptom. So let's say you had high blood pressure, and you're just looking for a doctor who can control your high blood pressure, what's the doctor going to do to control it, they're going to put you on medication. And if the first medication doesn't work, they'll try second, and a third and a fourth and a fifth. And it's not unusual to be on several medications or something like that. It's actually very common. Absolutely. And so you go to the doctor, you get the medications, what are you doing to actually fix the issue that caused it in the first place? What caused the high blood pressure? That's what you want to ask yourself? What caused this disease process? And then you get to the root of it with whatever is missing? And what's there that's causing it. So if you're missing the nutrients that you know you're not getting, you may think well, I mean, my sad veggies, it takes a lot of plant foods on a regular basis to get our bodies into the place where they can function properly. Their twin ever 20,000 He that's

Jarrod:

exactly where I wanted to go, because chomping at the bit, because you had mentioned this recently that there have been identified 20,000 different molecules within plants that I haven't named, I haven't characterize them. They haven't named them. They don't know exactly what they do yet. But I would find it impossible to believe that they don't do something in food is not just carbohydrates, protein and fats. It's not just vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C when

Anita:

I was gonna say that because what we're doing is we're taking these macro nutrients, these very few that we look at are the micro nutrients. So macronutrients being things like proteins, and fats and carbs and telling you to keep up with all these things that we don't tell you that but people tell you that trying to diet and we're looking at those things, we're looking at these specific vitamins, very few of which we even probably know of because we've got these 22 or 20,000 plus other nutrients. I can't remember the exact number that have been discovered. That's not counting all the nutrients that haven't even yet been discovered, right? Absolutely. I mean, you got to think of all the ones that are there that they don't even know about every time you eat a plant food. These things are in there in different amounts. The different foods, so you want to get a variety. But what you've got to understand is they're there to help your body function in the way it was created to function. And the little side of canned beans, or a little salad on the side of your plate is not going to give you enough of those things to keep your cells functioning the way that they need to. And thus the disease happens. But on top of not getting enough, what's happening is we're putting in things and giving them things they were never meant to have all these preservatives and colors and pressed out oils, and all these things we were never meant to eat. And then that causes another problem. So you've got an additive problem where you're adding something to your body that it doesn't need. And then you're leaving out all these things that it does need. And day after day after day after day, this happens and I reach 40 years of it, at 40 years old, and I was sick. I mean, I was having crazy auto immune system problems, and never even got diagnosed, it was so crazy. It's hard to diagnose autoimmune, if you've never dealt with that. If you have dealt with it, you know,

Jarrod:

it's hard. There are certain ones that are known like rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis and pemphigus and sjogrens. I mean, there's a list of them. But there are so many others where the body's attacking itself, that doesn't follow into one of those cookie cutter diagnoses. And it's just, I mean, you may fear that a provider will look at you and think that you're crazy, like you're lying about this and that I don't know what you're talking about.

Anita:

When you add to that, you add to that the pain that now you're hurt and all labor. So now you've got Fibromyalgia because they don't know

Jarrod:

what and that's where I was going with that. Usually, you're not coming in after the first day this has happened, it's been after a long time, and then you're not sleeping well. And then everything just suffers. And then finally you go in and you got this long list of things. And then again, I've been in 10 years, and I've not approached my patients this way. But I've seen it where people think oh, they just got fibromyalgia, they're just kind of crazy. And it's very discouraging

Anita:

it is. And when you're in that position, it is so hard because you're aching all over. Maybe you're like I was you're crying in the shower, because just the pressure on your hands and your elbows and your shoulders. To wash your hair. I mean, something you need to be doing on a regular basis. You can't even do what you want to do. You can't chase your kids around, you can't vacation where you want to go and fully experience the places you can't reach the place you want in your career. Because maybe you're holding yourself back because you feel bad about your body image or you just can't think clearly to go as far as you want to go in business or you have no energy, but you think I cannot go through another miserable diet. And who could blame you. No one wants to do that. But I'm telling you, there are things you can do if you just will start doing these two things. One, get more whole plant foods every day. Make yourself just a post it note or use your planner or something that you're going to see often. And pick one or two new whole plant foods to try to start getting into your life in the categories of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Berries are a great place to start. If you like berries, or you don't know because you've never tried them before. Or maybe you just have one berry that you eat and you don't need it very often. Start getting fresh and frozen berries, add them to all kinds of things. You can add them to bowls of oatmeal, you can put them in a pot and bake them with some blended up a meal and make like a cobbler, you can do that. I mean, there's so many different ways you can eat berries, throw them on your salad, throw them in a smoothie. I mean I could go on and on eat a bowl plane, our kids will grab frozen berries from the bags we get at Costco, the organic berries, and they'll just eat them with the spoon or sometimes with their hand depending on

Jarrod:

sometimes they'll do a mix, right? Do a little frozen fruit salad

Anita:

or make a fresh fruit salad. I mean, there's so many different ways to get your berries. Okay, we're just scratching the surface here. Sorry. I'm

Jarrod:

laughing because our daughter has a little business where people in the house pay her to make breakfast and she did this yesterday. She cut up a fruit salad. Yeah, so I had to pay her 10 Since

Anita:

she's a little entrepreneur, we got to watch that one. But it's amazing. So yeah, she has her own little restaurant and we love it because she does stuff like she makes banana bread. Okay, so this leads me to the point of you think now I've got to have foods I don't like or I'm gonna lose all the foods I do like that is a total lie. It's hogwash. Okay, do not be thinking to yourself, I have to give up tacos if I like tacos or pizza or hamburgers if I like those things or even biscuits or desserts. Oh, I had a woman tell me not too long ago, my husband and he just needs to give up sweets. That's why he can't get healthy. He's got to give up sweets. No, he doesn't. He just needs to know a different way to have his sweets. Okay, there's all kinds of ways you can sweeten your food ways that you can sweeten your food. Without having pulled out sugars or things that are going to harm your body. You can do that with dried fruits and different things like that. And it is not hard. It tastes amazing. We had friends over the other day, I made them eggnog. They were freaking out like this tastes like real eggnog. Yeah. And there's no egg in it. You've just got to know how to get those flavor profiles. Right. And I mean, I worked on it and just nail the eggnog recipe. And it's,

Jarrod:

well, we had other friends too, where you had made some cookies and the daughter. Yeah, yeah. And the daughter told you these tastes like real cookies.

Anita:

Oh, my word. It was the cutest thing. She grabs these cookies off the tray goes running up the stairs because the kids were playing hide and seek together. turns around, Miss and Anita.

Unknown:

I said what she said, missing is these are like, these are really good.

Anita:

I said, Thank you. She said, No. I mean, like they taste like real cookies. I said, Honey, that's because they are real cookies. She's like, No, no, I mean, like, the cookies you get at the store, like at Publix. Like when you go to the deli section, like real cookies. I said she made like, unhealthy cookie. She's like, Yeah, they taste her neck. She was just freaking out. Because she thought it was so great that they tasted fine, healthy, that she knew she was actually eating something good. And she went to learn how to do that, you know. And that's just fun. I mean, it's so much fun seeing kids get to enjoy it and see, it can be healthy, it should be healthy. So those cookies that I put in her hand brought her just as much joy they were super easy to make didn't take me long at all. But I felt good giving them to her. And she felt good eating my bag, those cookies weren't gone, like

Jarrod:

last very long. So we had six children in the house at the time. So I don't think any cookie would have stood that

Anita:

gone. But you've got to understand you can have these things that you love in a way that will help to prevent the disease, not just cover up a symptom, we want to get to the root cause of the issue, there is hope you can get to the root cause of the problems of what's happening. Sometimes you have to stop and really think about what's going into my body that doesn't need to be there. What is not there that I know needs to be there and find a way to eat it, not to make yourself push through not to make yourself feel like you have to do this because you want to find a way to do it that you actually enjoy. You know, there's a lot of fades, I thought I didn't like because I'd had them only one way, you know, and I ate them that way for my whole life. And I had to force it down because I had to eat my food at the table when I was a child you know, finish your play.

Jarrod:

There until no time. That's right. And

Anita:

so you and that's really not the greatest thing to do. Don't do that to your children. But find the ways that you like to eat it. You know, if it's a green bean tried a different way. Maybe you didn't like the casserole with the condensed shape and all this stuff donate that there's so much better way to make green bean casserole. But um, this one I'm saying if there are these things you like, you can have them. So look at what are the things I need to get more of and fun to new ways this week to do that. Leafy greens are a great place to start. That's the second thing I would choose, I'd look at berries and leafy greens, because most

Jarrod:

people don't get them. If you take anywhere near enough. I don't know how

Anita:

to eat leafy greens besides a salad, get on our website power on plants.com and get our free handout, our free guide that will tell you exactly some great ideas. I mean some great ways it's very simple. It's nothing that's going to take you a long time to read. My point with that guide was to get into your hands actionable steps of things that you could look at and go, Oh, this looks so simple. But why have I not thought to do before? I mean, have you ever thought to just chop up a whole head of cabbage and put it in your chili and chop it so small that once it kicks in instapot you don't even know it's there. We start greens like that. The other day? Oh yeah, I made so much spaghetti sauce,

Jarrod:

kale and maybe spinach, I think you said I made

Anita:

spaghetti sauce Bumble and I sauce my recipes in the cookbook. And I put it up at a ton of greens. So I just thought I'm gonna put them in my feed press processor. And what you want to do is you want to freeze your greens. And this is the last big tip today Listen, freeze them in the bag. And when they right when they come out of the freezer, crush them in your hands inside the bag that will crush up into a powder almost. If they don't get small enough. You can put them in your food processor while they're frozen. And it's going to become like greens powder. It's wonderful. It's amazing. And then you're going to put that in your spaghetti sauce or if you have the cookbook, make the Bolognese sauce. It is amazing. It's got a ton of he loves it. Oh I know what's in this. This is so good. It's all plant based. It's very chunky and meaty, but it's got a lot of oil and it will it will feel you up, but it tastes great. And that's what's so important. And this is one of the best way she can get your greens. So we've given you an idea to get your green leafy Have you knew maybe at least 10 ideas to get your berries go to power plants.com Right now, look for the leafy greens secrets, leafy green secrets, it is free, once you get your email and i'll send it right out to you and you can get started, it's going to give you a great place to start. Understand that food is about more than just something that tastes good or old habits that need to be broken. Just get in there and start eating some things that you love finding new ways to get these whole plant foods into your life. It's not a big scary thing. It's just more fruits and veggies in a way that actually tastes good. And this is going to get to the root of the low energy, the root of the high blood pressure, the root of these diseases that you're either fearing that you have or that you've already been diagnosed with. Because we're not talking about dealing with sadness here, guess when you heal, the symptoms are going to go away as your body heals. But I also want you to realize and not get frustrated in our fast food society, of expecting things to change and be normal after one week, two weeks, three weeks, because what I can tell you is things can happen very quickly when you're eating this way for your good. But in my case, it took me 40 years to get to where I was. So I couldn't expect that within a very quick time. Everything was going to be gone. But I started getting results really seen just one after the other

Jarrod:

couple weeks. Yes, we noticed improvement in pain and improvement in the swelling in your joints. So it gave us the encouragement of yes, yeah, we're onto something here.

Anita:

And now we're at a place where we're at 50 We feel great, we have so much energy, we have to force ourselves to go to bed at night together, we've lost 75 plus pounds, I think and just really feeling much, much better. And I know I still have goals are still amazing in the process of moving forward. Because I really feel like this should be a lifelong journey. I'm still learning new foods to try and sharing those with our members. I'm still writing new recipes. There's all kinds of things I'm doing and we're sharing it with you here on the podcast as well. Because we want you to know, you can do this one step at a time. Get the great stuff in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds and start looking at removing. It's not just about what you're adding, or what you're getting rid of add in the great stuff and start getting out this animal products. Do that for yourself. You're not going to believe what a difference it makes. When your vessels start opening up. There are pictures of people who have had vessels that were closing, almost closed, opening back up, you can see it, it happens it can happen for you. And we want to hear your success stories. So when you start making these changes, and you start feeling better, write us email me at Anita at power plants.com shared and I want to hear what have you done? How long have you been doing it? And what change has it made in your life? We cannot wait to celebrate with you. We are so excited that you're here to learn more about whole foods plant based living. It is a game changer because it will change you from the inside out from this cellular level. And let me tell you when your cells start changing, everything changes. Sister We hope you have an amazing week and we can't wait to hang out with you again next time on power on plants.