Power On Plants | Meal Prep Ideas, Plant Based Diet, Vegan Food, Fatigue, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Healthy Food, Vegan Recipes, Weight Loss, Christian Healthcare
***TOP 55 NUTRITION + FAITH PODCAST*** This podcast is the answer to the question, "How in the world do I stop falling off the healthy eating wagon?!" Enjoy 315+ episodes filled with the simple, whole food plant-based strategies that are exciting, enjoyable, and work with real life. 🎉
Are you tired of staring into the fridge wondering what you should eat to feel better? Welcome to Power On Plants, where we help Purpose Driven Christian Women finally have a body that feels great, so you're able to actively live your God-given dreams! 💃🏻
Our specialty is showing you how to prepare the whole food plant-based meals that are really simple, thrill your taste buds, and make your body come alive! Unlike traditional medical professionals who help their clients manage their diseases, we are blessed to help our clients prevent and even reverse theirs.
Everything you want in life and business is on the other side of you falling in love with whole plant foods. Once you learn the sustainable way to enjoy the healing Power-Fuel Foods, there will be no stopping you from realizing your God-given dreams!
So if you'd love to leave feeling bad behind so you can finally do all the things you want to do, this is for you. We know how it is to constantly miss out on the life you were created to live just because you don't feel good...it absolutely stinks!
Years ago, we both fought inflammation daily, ached, lacked energy, gained unwanted pounds, and faced a growing list of medical diagnoses that kept us from living the full, active lives we desperately wanted to enjoy.
Even though we're both health professionals, we weren’t finding answers the traditional route, because it focuses on treating symptoms rather than addressing the root cause of disease.
There were many things we wanted to accomplish and experience in life, so we knew a course change was required. After all, life is not just about living long, but living well!
So we dug into the reliable nutrition research and created the system of simple plant-based meal strategies we could stick with... a way of eating that makes feeling great each day quick, easy, and enjoyable, and we’re here to share it with you!
If you are ready to:
-> Learn how to make the plant-based diet finally "stick"
->Be in community with those who love Jesus, care about each other, and are learning how to naturally feel their best without any new age mumbo jumbo
-> Spend less time dealing with kitchen overwhelm and more time enjoying life with those you love
-> Discover healthy meal prep ideas that are quick, simple, and delicious
-> Gain undeniable results like lower cholesterol, normal blood pressure, weight loss, decreased bloating, vibrant energy, and the ability to fully live your dreams...
Then this is for you!
We've helped our clients naturally reverse headaches, type II diabetes, joint pain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, autoimmune disease, reflux, obesity, fibrocystic breast disease, and more...
The great news is that carbohydrates (carbs) are not your enemy and you do not have to give up all the foods you love in the name of health. You simply need to know how to bust the nutrition myths, gain the right mindset, correctly set up your environment, and learn how to make healthy vegan eating enjoyable and exciting!
Ready to find your new favorite meals that will love your body back?
Then grab your favorite plant-based cuppa happy, and let’s have fun living this amazing blessing of life together! 💕
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Power On Plants | Meal Prep Ideas, Plant Based Diet, Vegan Food, Fatigue, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Healthy Food, Vegan Recipes, Weight Loss, Christian Healthcare
318: Cholesterol Myths Busted: What Every Woman Should Know
Ready to unlock the truth about cholesterol and finally take control of your health? Cholesterol isn't really the bad guy everyone makes it out to be! Here's the shocking truth that your doctor might not be telling you - your body actually NEEDS cholesterol! (Mind-blown, right?)
As your health coaches who've helped hundreds of women (as well as men) reclaim their vitality, we're pulling back the curtain on this misunderstood molecule.
You know those confusing food labels and contradicting health articles that leave you frustrated? We get it! That's exactly why in this episode we're breaking down the REAL science behind cholesterol. We're also discussing carbs, and other tricky food myths that keep you stuck. (Spoiler alert: those "healthy" egg white omelets might not be so healthy after all!)
But here's what gets us super excited - we're seeing amazing transformations in our community! Women just like you are discovering how simple whole plant foods can:
- Naturally balance cholesterol levels
- Boost energy (goodbye, afternoon slumps!)
- Support heart health
- Clear brain fog
- And so much more!
The best part? No complicated counting, expensive supplements, or restrictive unenjoyable diets required!
Whether you're dealing with high cholesterol, heart concerns, or simply want to prevent future health issues, this episode will equip you with actionable steps to take charge of your wellbeing - naturally and deliciously! 🌱
Inside our Signature Course, Power Plants Accelerator, we're sharing the exact Framework thats has helped our clients ditch the health confusion, finally stay on the healthy eating "wagon," and enjoy lasting food freedom. Imagine having two certified health professionals guiding you step-by-step toward lasting health the enjoyable way.
Ready to join hundreds of purpose-driven women who've already discovered this natural approach to healing? Your transformation story is waiting to begin! Learn all about it here.
P.S. If you're tired of conflicting nutrition advice and ready for science-backed solutions that actually work, this is for you!
🎁 Not yet a member of our FREE plant-based community? Once you're on the inside, every single podcast episode becomes searchable for you. 😲 Join us to gain the plant-based encouragement, real health-changing ideas, and sustainable plant-based inspiration you've been praying for! 💕
🥣 Grab our Cookbook Bundles today to learn the simple way to make whole food plant-based eating quick, enjoyable, and sustainable.
🤔 Wondering what's in our new Thrive Cookbook? Click here for the inside scoop!
Is cholesterol bad? Well, the quick answer is no. Now you may be thinking but wait, jared, my doctor says I have too much cholesterol and I need to get it lower and I need to go on this medication. So if it's not bad, then why are we doing this? The more complete answer is it depends. If you wanna get the full scoop, stick around.
Speaker 2:Hey sister, welcome to the Power on Plants podcast. Are you tired of staring into the fridge wondering what to eat so you can just feel better? Do you want to avoid spending hours in the kitchen making complicated meals in the name of health? Would you love to leave fatigue behind and finally have the energy to do all the things you want to do? Hi, we're Jared and Anita Roussel, christ followers, healthcare professionals, parents of four and big fans of great tasting food. We, too, tried exercising more, eating natural and clean foods, but we still found ourselves struggling with what we thought were changes that come with age or bad genes, and we weren't finding answers the traditional route. So we dug into the research and created our secret nutritional weapon sustainable plant-based living. The truth is, you can eat more whole plant foods and it's not hard. You just need the way. That's realistic and delicious so you never feel deprived. If you're ready to enjoy your meals, no longer be held back by your health struggles and actively live your life, then you're in the right place. So grab your favorite plant-based cup of happy pop in those earbuds and let's get started.
Speaker 2:If you're constantly dealing with high cholesterol numbers and you feel like, no matter what you do? You can't seem to get those numbers down. You're taking this medication and that medication and watching your numbers vigilantly. If you're having to do all that to try to reach the ideal numbers, then how in the world is it that cholesterol isn't actually bad? The truth is, your body needs cholesterol. The problem comes in the fact that it makes what it needs. So today Jared's going to explain more about this, because many of you have been asking us questions about the nutritional content in food and specific questions about things like protein and cholesterol. So today we want to talk about this thing that's been built up to be the big bad guy that it really isn't. But when you're struggling with something like this and you can't get the numbers down and you've been taught just look at the numbers the truth is, it's hard not to feel like cholesterol is the bad guy.
Speaker 1:And it's also hard not to get confused about the whole topic of cholesterol because really it's been demonized for so long. I've been a PA now 22 years, at the point of recording this podcast and going through school. It's high. Cholesterol is a modern day plague, along with diabetes and high blood pressure, and the term for all three is called dysmetabolic syndrome, and the reason I call it that is because these things tend to happen all together. Why is that?
Speaker 1:We know now why that is but they weren't really sharing this as much in school whenever I was going through the PA program I went through. It was a great program. I mean, it was nothing about where I went to school. They did a fantastic job. But, like most providers, they only know what they're being taught, and many times this message isn't being taught in the medical training programs, med school NP training programs, pa training programs.
Speaker 2:Nursing programs for registered nurses, associate degree nurses, bachelor's degree nurses. You're not getting this information in the standard schooling today. Thankfully, some of it is starting to change, but it's really slow at this point. We're hoping that it continues and we've got to keep getting out there and spreading this word, crushing the lies and replacing them with truth. This is the only way you're going to be set free from the things that are constantly keeping you stuck in your health struggles.
Speaker 1:So it's really no wonder that you're confused if your health care provider may not have the full story. So what I wanted to do is really go a little more in depth but not too much, don't worry, but just go a little more in the explanation of what exactly is cholesterol, how do we get it, what are the benefits of it, why it can cause health problems. I've had this discussion so many times with my patients. I thought, hey, let's do an episode about it. So with cholesterol, it is not a bad thing. Your body needs it. Our bodies actually make, for an average adult human, about one gram of it a day between the liver and the intestines, and the average adult human body has 35 grams of it throughout our entire body, in the brain, in every cell in our body. It's actually even the base molecule for many of our hormones, like testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, vitamin D.
Speaker 2:Right. It's hard to believe that, though, when you hear it talked about like it's some big boogeyman out there. But every single cell you're saying has cholesterol. Yes, and it needs it.
Speaker 1:It absolutely needs it, but it is talked about like it's a toxin. But then we hear people on things like YouTube and TikTok and some of these even have MD credentials where they're saying no cholesterol is good for you. You want to eat a carnivore diet? You know? This is what's going to help make you healthier, which we know based upon the research. That is not true. No, way.
Speaker 1:But it's confusing when you hear these different messages. So, with cholesterol, we've explained that, yes, every cell in your body has it, needs it. So, with the typical of what I'm calling the cycle of cholesterol in your body, if you're eating a traditional diet, a standard American diet, where you're eating things like meat, eggs, dairy, how are you getting that cholesterol? Well, you're eating it, so it then goes through your digestive tract.
Speaker 2:So these are some of the main sources of cholesterol eggs, meat, dairy is what you're saying.
Speaker 1:In our food supply.
Speaker 2:Right, but we want you to also keep in mind that whole plant foods do not contain any cholesterol Zero, none.
Speaker 1:Cholesterol is found only in animal-based foods. It is not found in plants at all. So when you eat these animal-based foods, then you consume it in your diet. It travels through your digestive tract. There are receptors in your intestines that will see that cholesterol, bind to it and pull it into your bloodstream and then it absorbs it. And when you're eating a diet low in fiber and I'll explain why in just a moment, why this matters, but when you're eating a diet low in fiber you get this recirculation, this recycling of the cholesterol between the body and the digestive tract.
Speaker 1:Now, normally, with digestion, our body makes bile. This is created in the liver, is stored in the gallbladder and it helps to break down fat molecules into smaller particles that we can absorb from the inside of our digestive tract. Well, it turns out, bile is made from cholesterol. Yet another important function of cholesterol when you eat a diet high in fiber, fiber will bind to some of that cholesterol and then guess what? It holds on to it and then it just moves right through your system. So animal-based diets, low in fiber, high in cholesterol.
Speaker 2:Because animal feeds have no fiber in them but a lot of cholesterol, and it's the exact opposite of plant feeds, which have no cholesterol and high fiber.
Speaker 1:Exactly so. You're eating those four eggs for breakfast every morning and you're eating that hamburger for lunch, and then you're eating that chicken breast with cheese and whatever else sour cream For dinner. You're getting high levels of cholesterol. You have very low levels of fiber, so then your body's absorbing it.
Speaker 2:From your little side veggie, right, your little token side veggie. You might get a little fiber from that.
Speaker 1:You might get a skosh shall we say, just a skosh of it, but you're eating high levels of cholesterol. You're absorbing them. Then, because of the bile, it gets dumped back into the digestive tract but there's nothing there to really hold on to it to help eliminate it. With a plant-based diet, no cholesterol, high in fiber, so when you eat this you get no cholesterol from it. So there's nothing there to absorb from those cholesterol receptors in the lining of your small intestines. Whenever you have bile that you release, many plants are lower in fats, so you're probably not going to need as much of that bile. So when it gets bound to the fiber it then gets eliminated. So you have almost, I would say, this natural ongoing flushing action where, instead of stacking the balance, of increasing the amount that's in your body, you actually have it where you're decreasing the amount in your body.
Speaker 2:Right, flushing it out. I love the idea of flushing it out. That's great. I can really see that happening with the whole plant foods.
Speaker 1:And science shows that time and time again, that a whole food, plant-based diet lowers cholesterol, and this is part of the reason why. But, Jared, I thought cholesterol was important. Well, it is. It turns out your body makes all that it needs and it has regulatory mechanisms so that it controls that. So as the cholesterol levels go up, body says, OK, we don't need to make quite as much now, so we'll decrease it. If the levels start dropping, then it ramps it up.
Speaker 1:Now if you're getting a high dietary source in the form of the animal products, then you're bypassing that regulatory mechanism. Now you might think, okay, my body's going to make less to compensate for what I'm getting and that may be true to a degree getting a high amount, just again, meal after meal, the four eggs, the steak then it's not going to be able to decrease enough to compensate that. Now I've gone over the source of the cholesterol matters. You can either get it from your food, which only animal products have it plants do not or your body can make it. I would submit that the body making it is far superior than getting it from your food source and your body makes plenty of it right To be healthy.
Speaker 2:Your body makes all that it needs.
Speaker 1:Exactly All that it needs, so we don't really ever have to be worried about not having enough.
Speaker 2:I don't think any of us are really worried about having enough. I think most people today are not worried about that, but it may be a concern. When we start thinking about things like that, we get these irrational fears. Well, that's what I was thinking.
Speaker 1:That's what I was thinking and just trying to assure you that our body will have all that it needs. Probably nobody has ever thought I won't have enough cholesterol, but if we're now focusing on things that can actually help lower my cholesterol, will it make it go too low? I personally have never seen that happen.
Speaker 2:Never.
Speaker 1:And the body's wonderfully made, so I don't think that that is going to be an issue. Now the next consideration is what is the form of that cholesterol? So when you get it from food, it's not just oh hey, I'm getting some extra cholesterol. No, you're getting oxidized cholesterol, because most people, when they eat animal products, are cooking it at a high temperature, with flame or in an oven or fried in oil. So some form of high heat processing is going to oxidize that cholesterol. Plus, they come with oxidized saturated fats which then cause damage in the blood vessels and we've talked about this some on the podcast.
Speaker 1:But the oil and the cholesterol create inflammation in the blood vessels, which creates damage, which then allows for that oxidized cholesterol to stick and then creates the clogged arteries. The cholesterol that our bodies make aren't oxidized. They don't just automatically come with a lot of refined oils. So when you eat a plant rich diet, what happens? Inflammation goes away, the lining of our vessels heal, so then they don't get clogged. So now you actually have a healthy cholesterol level and a healthy state within the body with the cholesterol that your body needs. So it's completely different, even though it's still cholesterol, and hopefully that makes sense.
Speaker 2:It makes perfect sense, because the problem is in our society, we hear one word for one thing and it's not the same thing. We're here to tell you a cholesterol isn't just a cholesterol. In other words, what I mean by that is all cholesterols are not created equal and therefore they do not equally affect your body.
Speaker 1:A great example would be water. Water, really, I would say, is neither good nor bad. It's water. Now, when you're extremely thirsty, a glass of water, that is what you need. Whenever let's say, god forbid, something's on fire that you don't want on fire. Okay, let's say campfire, that's something good that's on fire. You want to put it out. You put water on it, but could somebody potentially drown in water? Yes, they could. So there's two sides of it, depending on the situation.
Speaker 2:But here you've got water that's different type of water. So what I want you to see here is not all cholesterol is created equal. The kind that you eat is different. That you're getting from the animal products is different than the kind that your body is making. Yes, it's cholesterol, but it's not created equal. It's the same thing that not all types of fats are equal. So a plant fat eating a plant fat versus the fats that you get in animal products have different effects on your body.
Speaker 1:Another example are carbohydrates. We talk about this all the time. The refined carbohydrates aren't good for you, but when you get the carbohydrates found in plants in their whole form with the fiber, those are fantastic for you.
Speaker 2:But what happens in our society is something gets demonized. So if you're like I was years ago and I'm walking down the aisles of a local health food store and I hear the guy that works there telling someone who's trying to get healthy, whatever you do, don't eat a banana. Carbs are bad, man. They're bad. Not this type of carbs. This is a whole food carb. But the guy had believed.
Speaker 2:One of the common lies and myths that keep people stuck is that carbs are bad for you. Oh, carbs are the devil. Carbs are bad for you. Your body needs carbs. It absolutely requires carbs, in the same way that your body absolutely requires cholesterol, but it does not do well with all the cholesterol it's getting from the animal products and it also does not do well with all the carbs that you're getting that are refined. So I want you to understand that the way things are defined sometimes in our society can be very detrimental to you, because you've taken something by the name that they've given it and there are different forms of that thing. Some are good for you, some are not good for you, and they're all lumped into one category and now you have a very wrong view about what it takes to become healthy. That's why, inside the course, inside Power Implants Accelerator, we're going to be breaking down so many of these myths for you, because otherwise you are going to stay stuck in the lies that the enemy has planted to keep you stuck.
Speaker 1:And it's hard to thrive if you're, essentially, with regard to this topic, walking in darkness. Exactly, absolutely the lies have blinded us, and when you know the truth and you can walk in that truth, it opens up so much for you.
Speaker 2:It's freedom, it's food freedom, absolutely. You just get free when you know the truth. The truth really does set you free.
Speaker 1:But it really is no wonder that people are confused about this topic, because you will hear things like there are studies done that eggs didn't raise your cholesterol, which is one of the topics that Ian and I were discussing. That made me really think about today's topic. Yes, there are studies out there that will say, hey, when people added three eggs to their morning regimen, that it didn't really affect their cholesterol level. That can be true, but context means everything, because what happens is they have people that are already on the standard American diet, where they're eating a ton of animal products getting a high level of cholesterol already. So then, if you're adding a little extra, does it make a big difference?
Speaker 1:No, well, not typically. Either there's a little bit of a difference or sometimes there can be no difference. But, jared, why is that? Well, I'm glad you asked, because our body only has a certain capacity to absorb things. So in the case of cholesterol, yes, there is a certain limit, a cutoff, because you have receptors in your gut lining and they can only take in so much. Well, once you exceed that, then your body's not going to absorb anymore.
Speaker 2:Right. So if you're already eating a lot of animal products and you already have high cholesterol that one meal of three eggs, even though it's a lot of animal products, and you already have high cholesterol that one meal of three eggs, even though it's a lot of cholesterol the damage is already done and your body's already filled with cholesterol from all the previous meals you've just eaten. So therefore it's not going to have that much of an effect. When they're looking at the numbers in the one research study where people who already eat this way are now getting the eggs, and so then they take that study and they tell you oh see, you can eat three or four eggs and it's really not going to affect your cholesterol that much. But what if you take a vegan and you do that same study? Now you've got real results because you can see what actually happens. Because you're taking a vegan, you're taking somebody who's not eating animal products, and now they're eating animal products. You see what actually is happening to the body of the non-vegan as well.
Speaker 1:And I would even see whole food plant-based, because within veganism, you can have overly processed foods, which can include pressed out oils like palm oil and coconut oil, which are high in saturated fats, which are also shown to increase cholesterol levels within the body. But if you take someone that is following the power on plants way the whole food plant-based then, yes, there is a very visible effect in what those foods will do to your cholesterol level. So, again, context matters. So we want you to be aware of how these things are done, so that way you aren't potentially deceived.
Speaker 2:Right, because things can be spun in a lot of different ways to seem true. That's why you get so confused and overwhelmed when you try to get healthy. You're looking at the research and you've got one study that says oh, eating three or four eggs really doesn't affect your cholesterol that much. Well, now you can understand why some of these studies can reveal things like that, and they're quote telling the truth. But it's not a truth. They've actually been spun in a way to make you think that it's okay to eat eggs because they're not going to raise your cholesterol, when they actually can be damaging to the lining of your blood vessels and your health. That's what we see in the reliable research.
Speaker 1:And they're not lying, but it is still deceptive because they're trying to spin a story to make it seem like this isn't that bad for you, but they're leaving out some details of the context that would make you see that the results are actually different than what they're trying to portray.
Speaker 2:And if you have a lot of these questions about what is true in the research and where you've been lied to and what is actually real when it comes to nutrients like this, you are going to absolutely love the course, because we're going to be walking you through a lot of these lies that have kept you stuck, and then we'll be there for you inside the Accelerator community answering your questions. We're going to have a live Q&As every single week, some in the morning, some in the evening, so you'll be able to get your questions answered weekly and then on a daily basis as well. We'll be showing up to answer these things, and what you may not know is that Jared is a research geek. Should I say geek or nerd, which is nicer, maybe?
Speaker 1:one of them bothers you, I know you that don't bother me, but just researcher I guess.
Speaker 2:Okay. So my sidekick researcher loves this stuff. So if you want to bring those questions, you're bringing them to the right place inside Accelerator because he is going to be there to answer these things. He loves it and he loves looking at it and digging into it and he can look at a research study and tell is it reliable? How can he do that? Because he's not only a physician assistant, he also has a degree in cellular and molecular biology and has worked in research at the Medical University of South Carolina. So he loves digging into this stuff.
Speaker 1:I've dabbled for a few years.
Speaker 2:I've dabbled for a few years, you've dabbled for life.
Speaker 1:Well, I, mean as far as in the research field. Before then I went in to get in my PA degree.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but he actually worked in research and now still just loves geeking out on the research journals and things like that. It lights them up.
Speaker 1:It lights me up. I just love learning that information. So in the spirit of all of that, I did want to make one more little plug for plant-based. So we know, and we've talked about, certain foods that help to lower cholesterol, but with just a plant-based diet, there are a number of foods that have something in them called phytosterols. These are molecules that mimic the shape of cholesterol enough so that they will bind to those receptors in the lining of your intestines. But they basically plug up the lock so they bind to it and prevent regular cholesterol from binding and prevents them from being absorbed. So not only do you have cholesterol being bound to fiber permanently and carried out, you also have other molecules within plants that are blocking that channel, that gateway for anything that might make its way there to be absorbed. So you're kind of blocking the door and then you've got the arm guard grabbing it and escorting it out.
Speaker 1:Exactly, great minds think alike. I think we've used this term before, but I think we have unagi, where we both are on the same page. We know what each other's thinking.
Speaker 2:I would say that happens after how many years of marriage? I'm testing them.
Speaker 1:Ooh, you're testing me.
Speaker 2:How many years of marriage?
Speaker 1:31.
Speaker 2:You weren't really adding it up, were you? No, you're the one that stays on top of all the numbers.
Speaker 1:See, I do that. I know it's 31.
Speaker 2:I was testing him when really I need him to tell me exactly how many years, because he's the numbers man. It's not that I don't love him or care, but he's the numbers man. If you're married, you know what I'm talking about Odds and one of you is not, and I am not the numbers person here, but he can tell you the exact dates. We've moved into every single house and we've moved a lot. So you would think that we can have this banter because we've been married for so long, but in reality this has been a thing with us since we met at the age of 18.
Speaker 1:18.
Speaker 2:18 years old Rhodes College in Memphis, tennessee, and from that point on we've just pretty much been able to finish each other's sentences. It's kind of funny, because there was a person who commented one time about our podcast, about how you might be talking, and then I jump in and say something it's just like that's kind of how we do things on a regular basis. You do that for me, I do that for you. It's just kind of how we live.
Speaker 1:We just know.
Speaker 2:So I want to ask Jared a question, while we've got his ear about cholesterol. I know that a lot of you have this health struggle and the truth is there are many things that you can do to bring it down naturally and you don't have to have the crippling side effects of the medication. But the problem, I think, comes in and I want to know if you think this is correct or what you think is going on here that we just are taught to look at the numbers and the doctors are just looking at the numbers. So when we're clients or patients, we're looking at numbers and we're like oh, I don't understand. You know, I've got the genetic kind and my numbers stay high and I've been eating plant-based for two years whole food, plant-based I've still got high cholesterol. What's going on there? Can you give us a quick wrap it up in a nutshell? Is that really necessarily a problem?
Speaker 1:I think it's a problem because you're not looking at the root cause. Now, if you're able to artificially lower cholesterol by taking something like a statin medication which prevents the liver from making cholesterol internally, could it lower your cholesterol numbers? It could, but it doesn't address the key issue of the dietary source of the cholesterol that you're getting, where it's oxidized, plus the oxidized saturated fat and then just all the other things that come with the vehicle there the animal-based product. So we still have damage going on in the blood vessels. We can still have the accumulation of plaques in our arteries. Maybe it's slowed down with the medication. I would say I can't conceive of a time when it would ever be completely stopped because you're still doing the things that cause the inflammation and that ongoing damage.
Speaker 2:Eating the animal products.
Speaker 1:Eating the animal products. You have just slowed it down, so there's still a leak in your boat. It's just not as big of a leak, so you're sinking slower, Okay.
Speaker 2:So that's in the scenario where you're eating animal products but you're taking cholesterol medication.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So what if I'm eating whole food plant-based, hoping to get my numbers down to normal? But two years down the road I'm still whole food plant-based but still have some high cholesterol.
Speaker 1:Is that necessarily something I need to worry about? Not necessarily. Some people do have a genetically higher level of cholesterol, but here the context and the vehicle matters. So if you are 100% plant-based and you're eating a very rich, varied diet of plant foods so that you don't have that inflammation going on in your blood vessels, well, guess what Vessels do what God designed them to do. The body does what God designed it to do to heal. So that inflammation, the damage of the inner lining of your blood vessels, heals, the plaques will actually shrink. Now they may or may not go completely away, but science has shown that these plaques will shrink up and open up what they call the lumen, that inner part of the vessel.
Speaker 2:So you're saying the vessel damage actually can heal and reverse? We see that happen when you're eating a whole food plant-based diet and that is what the cholesterol is sticking to the damage of the vessels, correct. So if you've been eating whole food plant-based for two years and that damage has been repairing all this time, even if your cholesterol numbers stay higher, what then?
Speaker 1:The cholesterol that your body's naturally making isn't oxidized, isn't damaged, like cholesterol found in animal products that are cooked.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we just talked about that we just talked about that.
Speaker 1:Plus, your vessels are now squeaky clean, so there's no place for that cholesterol to stick. So people can have higher numbers but not have any blocked arteries.
Speaker 2:Any damage.
Speaker 1:Any damage. So blocked arteries affects your heart, heart attack affects your brain, could be dementia over a long period of time, could be a stroke if it's something where there's been narrowing and now all of a sudden there's a blood clot and now it's acutely blocked and there's no blood flow and then, boom, stroke. So there are a lot of these different ongoing, chronic or age-related diseases that wouldn't happen because they're not getting blocked.
Speaker 2:So what I'm wondering is if I'm a person who has high cholesterol and I'm on a cholesterol medication, maybe it's come down some, but not as much as I'd like. Eating whole food, plant-based, but I've been eating 100% for a couple of years now. Is having high cholesterol in that case telling me that I should absolutely 100% be on a cholesterol-lowering medication, with all the side effects that it brings?
Speaker 1:Not necessarily. I want you to follow with your provider. If this is your situation, absolutely follow up with your medical provider. Discuss this with them. Do not just stop medication because you heard this podcast.
Speaker 2:And do your research.
Speaker 1:Do your research. Everybody's situation is different, so if you know that there's a high rate of heart attacks in your family, then in your situation it may be advantageous. But I believe there are a lot of different things that we can do food-wise not just being plant-based, but there are even foods that can help naturally lower cholesterol. There are also some cholesterol medications that I feel tend to be better and less likely to cause side effects than some of the more popular ones, like the statins.
Speaker 2:And if you're looking for the foods and you think which foods is it I need to know? I need to be eating those foods and you don't have time to go through every single one of the podcast episodes in the next 10 minutes. We have well over 300 episodes right now, filled with free information for you, but you're like I need it now. I need to know what to buy at the store the next time I go to start lowering my cholesterol, naturally. Then get inside our free community. Why are you not there if you're not there? And if you're there, why are you not using this feature? That's what I want to know. Get inside the free community. Once you're there, use the feature that you have. You should be using this on a regular basis to answer your nutrition and whole food plant-based question. It is a free, searchable magnifying glass that's inside our free group Podcast Insiders Experience.
Speaker 1:You're going to press that magnifying glass on the bottom right-hand side of the screen and type in your search term.
Speaker 2:All you have to type in is cholesterol in this case, or possibly lower cholesterol. It will pull up for you every single time in any episode that we have said the word cholesterol, right at the exact spot where we said it. So it's not only going to pull up for you the exact library that you need of specially curated for you episodes that we've done specifically about foods to lower cholesterol. It's also going to pull up for you every time we've said cholesterol in every single episode, and you can press play right there inside the free group and listen to that exact spot to see until you have the exact information that you're looking for. This is crazy Like people charge a lot of money for this kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:But we want to set you up to start getting results now Before you get into the course and start laying that really big foundation. You can get started here. Start getting results here. Get inside our free group at poweronplantscom forward slash P-I-E. That's poweronplantscom forward slash pie. It is going to make all the difference for you. If you use it. You have to use it. You're going to love it.
Speaker 1:Well, so many of our listeners have said. I've binge listened to the last 300 episodes and I started thinking you're not going to remember where you've heard something specifically, right, right, I remember you mentioned this thing about pecans and we wanted you to be going to remember where you've heard something specifically, right, right, I remember you mentioned this thing about pecans and we wanted you to be able to find these things quickly, not wrestle with looking at the title of the podcast episode and thinking, okay, it might've been in this one, but there are two others that say pecans, and I'm not sure which one. Now, if you'll listen to the whole thing, this will take you right to the exact spot and give you the answers that you need.
Speaker 2:And we set it up specifically strategically for you like this, because that's just what we do when we have free information. We set it up like this when we have paid information, where you've decided I want to invest in myself and set this foundation so that I know step one, step two, step three. That's going to take me to the next level. We've set up the course that way for you. We've set up the course community that way for you, so that you know exactly what to do and have right at your fingertips the information that you need, that you know is reliable and can be trusted and you're not going to be confused, you're not going to get overwhelmed, because we care about you. This is real for us. We're not just some people who had some health struggles and got over them eating this way. Yeah, we did.
Speaker 2:We certainly did and we can talk to you more about that, because we really need to do an updated episode to let you know what all we have been able to deal with and get through. But we want you to know that we went into medicine and nursing to help people because we care about you. We got sick of trying to help people manage diseases what in the world Like? We went into this to help you prevent and even reverse the common diseases of our time that most of you find yourself dealing with excess pounds that just absolutely do not have to be there low energy, exhaustion, brain fog, anxiety, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, aching in your joints every day, not knowing how you're going to survive to do the things that you can do, missing out on all those opportunities. We care about you, we love you and we do not want you struggling with these things anymore. It is absolutely not necessary and plant-based is the answer, and it is not hard and it does not take a lot of time and it is absolutely delicious when you know how. And that is why we are so lit up about this way of living, because we know that. We know that. We know that it changes lives. It's changed so many lives in the past. It's changed our lives in amazing ways. I really honestly do not think I'd be here today if you knew what all I had recovered from. I don't think I'd still be alive that's how sick I was.
Speaker 2:We've helped client after client, patient after patient, break free from health struggles. They thought they'd be stuck with for their lives and seeing them go on to create a podcast they've always dreamed of creating. And now here's this member who's out there showing people how to serve other people, just one at a time, helping their brothers and sisters in Christ. Think of the ripple effect that this can have through your life once you break free. What is happening to all these people that are now listening to his podcast? Shout out, alex, we love, love, love what you're doing. His podcast is called Just Serve One. Go and check it out and we love what he's doing, but he told us I didn't feel like doing it before. Now I'm finding myself after eating this way that you're showing me. Now I finally feel like putting all these dreams into practice. We've had people grow their businesses to the next level. We're working with clients who have started new businesses, who are having dreams of businesses they never even dreamed of before, because now they can think clearly and parents who are able to be there chasing their kids around.
Speaker 2:Think about yesterday with us. We just went with our 20-year-old daughter to celebrate her birthday down to a place we absolutely love and we were out and we were about and we were walking all around and I told Jared today I said, just think I could have missed that I could have either not been here because I wasn't alive or I could have just missed out on it because I was stuck at home on the couch because I absolutely had no energy to do it. I was tapped out and exhausted and I felt like nobody understood. I remember looking out the window and thinking this is my life. I'm going to be stuck like this forever if I actually survive.
Speaker 2:That is no way to live and we don't want you to live that way. Our heart is to help you be set free. Get inside the free group when the course opens if you're ready to take things to the next level and you want us to take you by the hand and walk you step by step by step in the enjoyable, lasting way to eat whole plant foods, so you can finally feel your best and fully live your God-given calling. The free community is always the best place for you to get the latest information on what we have available for you to walk you, step by step, to living the full life, the active life that you deserve. Sister, you are prayed for and you are loved, and we look forward to seeing you again inside Podcast Insider's experience and on the next episode of Power on Plants. Thank you.