As we at MamaSezz well know, changing to a plant-based diet can change your life in ways you never expected. In this series, we talk with some of the world’s most soulful, dedicated (and often funny) individuals. We get to hear their stories of suffering, transformation, and service — and we learn how food is an essential part of their journey. Today we answer a tough question: is vegan food healthy?
This week, we compiled the stories of three amazing women who experienced health issues, despite giving up meat. All three began to reassess their diets and found vegan and vegetarian junk food was still front and center. Once they began prioritizing whole foods, each woman saw a huge difference in their life and health.
3 women who went from junk food veggie to whole food plant-based (and the results speak for themselves!)
1. Wanda: From a junk food vegan to the Director of the NHA
Wanda grew up eating the Standard American Diet, and did so until she made a shocking association between her daughter's diet and upcoming surgery. When she removed sugar and dairy from her 6-year-old's diet, the surgeon told Wanda the surgery was no longer necessary. This sparked Wanda's interest in food as medicine – and she looked into the health benefits of a whole food plant-based diet.
Wanda then went vegan, but her diet slowly slipped into more and more vegan junk food. As she felt worse and worse, she was left wondering: Is vegan food healthy? I mean, Oreos are vegan!
When she went all in on her whole food vegan diet, she saw the benefits almost immediately. She's stronger, lighter (down 50 pounds!), and has more energy than ever. Today, helping others live a healthy lifestyle is her mission – professionally and personally – as she serves as the Executive Director at the National Health Association (NHA).
Check out Wanda's full story and the NHA Bundle with MamaSezz.
2. Chef AJ: from sugar and caffeine addict to healthy, famous, plant-based Chef
Chef AJ struggled with obesity in her childhood and self esteem issues throughout her teenage years. She always wanted to be vegan, but her well-meaning family discouraged her, as they were worried about the health implications. Chef AJ finally took the plunge into vegan eating in her late teenage years, but still struggled with her addictions to caffeine and sugar. She also started to have colon issues, and knew she had to get her diet back on track if she didn't want to end up with surgery.
After finally detoxing from sugar and caffeine, Chef AJ came out on the other end as a whole food vegan...and never looked back. Today she is a healthy weight and shares healthy plant-based recipes and weight loss secrets online and in her cook books. She even has a plant-based meal bundle with MamaSezz!
Check out Chef AJ's full interview.
3. Dr. Merchia: the vegetarian cardiologist who finally ditched dairy and eggs
Shikha Merchia was a vegetarian for most of her life yet was on the cusp of being overweight. While she felt "healthy enough," it wasn't until she went whole food plant based that she knew what healthy really felt like.
As a cardiologist, Dr. Merchia attended quite a few lifestyle medicine lectures. A few on the plant-based diet stood out to her as she was already vegetarian. She decided to go all on and saw her body change immediately. Shikha could feel the difference, too. She had more energy and dropped the extra pounds that she was carrying around.
Read Dr. Merchia's fully story.
Ready to give whole vegan foods a try?
Ditch the junk and get the support you need to live your best whole food plant-based life when you sign up for the the MamaSezz Detox and Reboot Program.