Veganist_ Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World - Kathy Freston [81]
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Yet, as with other important changes, persistence pays off, and it’s by overcoming these internal obstacles and putting the changes that we know are right into practice—perhaps by leaning in to them gradually and at a pace that is comfortable—that we reap the biggest rewards. As we realize our capacity to listen to our better instincts, this powers us on even further. And once we get that momentum going, a quantum leap becomes possible, and we transform not only ourselves but our families, communities, and nations along with us.
What is it that makes that leap possible? And what is it that’s stopping us from doing what we know is a good move all around?
Lifting Out of an Addiction
Knowledge itself is pretty inspiring. For many people, just learning about all the benefits of plant-based food is enough to prompt a leap of action. And for most, once they ease animal products from their diet, they quickly experience the personal benefits and their commitment to the diet grows.
As I’ve emphasized from the beginning of this book, though, for many of us the switch can be much harder (I certainly didn’t transition easily or overnight). Knowledge may inspire, but it’s not the only ingredient needed to make a substantial and lasting change. Remember Natala’s story in Promise 2? “I would sit in my car and cry outside of sub shops, just wanting a tuna melt.” Some folks sincerely want to make the change but struggle against their bodies’ cravings for animal products. It’s important to remember that these cravings will go away if they are not indulged. That said, many people find that their knowledge of the benefits of a vegan diet isn’t enough to resist a meat or cheese itch.
If you find it’s hard to give up meat, dairy, or eggs, there is a good reason for that: medical doctors like Neal Barnard have long talked about how animal products are habit-forming. Giving them up is not as hard as breaking a smoking or alcohol addiction, but it poses many of the same kinds of challenges, especially psychologically. Getting off animal products can involve breaking what medical professionals have begun to call a “food addiction.” In speaking with medical students, Dr. Barnard invites them to imagine the following scenario:
The patient stumbles into the doctor’s office. He has a bleary look in his eyes and a bulbous red nose covered with broken veins. With slurred speech, he tells the doctor about his repeated hospitalizations for cirrhosis of the liver, his gradually worsening mental acuity, and his personal life marked by inability to hold a job and several arrests for abuse of his wife.
The doctor shakes his head with disbelief. How could one man have so many seemingly unrelated problems? Apparently, he has a visual problem, a skin problem, a neurological problem, a liver problem, mild dementia, and recurrent interpersonal difficulties. No doubt he’ll need referrals to many different specialists and a lot of medication.
Well, obviously, the situation is absurd. No one would miss the diagnosis of alcoholism. But let’s imagine a different case. A man walks into the doctor’s office. He complains of constipation that has bothered him since childhood, and he has been steadily gaining weight. His cholesterol level has tended to run high, and a few years ago he developed high blood pressure and borderline diabetes. He has had recurrent episodes of gout, sometimes requiring hospitalization.
To most doctors, these are unrelated diagnoses, and they are treated with an enormous number of drugs. But an increasing number of doctors recognize this symptom cluster as having all the hallmarks of addiction—an addiction to fatty, cholesterol-laden foods.
Can people really be addicted to meat or cheese? “An increasing body of evidence,” explains Dr. Barnard, “suggests that they may well be.” That isn’t all bad news. Once we see that we are facing an addiction, the possibility of making a profound shift is opened.
You know you are addicted to