This JUST came across my radar. And as my book The Plant-Based Journey: a A Step-By-Step Guide for Transitioning to a Healthy Lifestyle and Achieving Your Ideal Weight is still in production with Ben Bella Publishing – meaning I can’t get it into your hands quite yet – this short guide has been made available and I couldn’t wait to share it with you.
“The Plant-Based Diet – a Healthier Way to Eat”
Snapshot from the Plant-Based Diet Brochure
This plant-based diet brochure has just come out from Kaiser Permanente.
As you may know, Kaiser has been taking a leadership role in advising their doctors and health-care providers to advocate a plant-based diet for their patients and clients.
As an HMO provider, Kaiser stands to benefit from people who take care of their health and do NOT need medical care, oodles of medications, or other more drastic, dangerous interventions.
And as you can eat your way out of disease for the most part, they are all over it. Go Kaiser!
Here is a link to the Kaiser plant-based diet advisory, if you’d like to read more: Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-based Diets.
The brochure is a beautiful, simple snapshot to help you – or your friend or loved one – get started with a plant-based diet. You can download it for free here:
Plant-Based Diet Brochure Download
Full of tips for planning meals, health benefits, and more, this is a valuable tool that you can easily download and print for friends who are curious about plant-based living.
Brochure snapshot – plant-based diet food grups
Tell Me What You Think
Once you’ve had a look, I’d love to know what you think. Please pose your comments below:
- How do you think you might utilize this?
- Would you change anything about it – and if so, how?
Plant-Based Diet Brochure Download
Enjoy this resource -and enjoy what you eat!
Thanks for sharing this. I recently contacted Kaiser to find out what resources they had available and they called me back to let me know there is a Plant Based nutrition workshop in my area. It’s 2 hours and next month. I’ll be interested to read this as I wasn’t sure what their message would be in the workshop.
Tammy Lee,
This is fabulous news! May I ask where you are located? I know that Dr. Craig McDougall – Dr. John McDougall’s son – has been leading the way at Kaiser P. in Portland. Are you in that neck of the woods?
I can’t wait to hear about the workshop – promise to keep me posted!
Lani
Lani, this looks great! Thank you for sharing!
Certainly Sue -so glad it looks like something you can use!
Thanks for posting,
Lani
Lani,
Thanks for sharing this brochure. It is wonderful to see a mainstream ‘health’ care provider offer nutritional advice of this kind. I especially like the photographs of the healthy plates of food and would incorporate some of their suggestions into my d*et.
Limiting the quantity, and not eating until satiated, would be too restrictive to me. However, the portion size suggestions are always helpful.
All the best!
Lynne, I’m so glad you like it and appreciate your comments! I think the pictures are fabulous too – it’s beautifully put together. And YES it’s exciting to see something as mainstream as Kaiser taking this public stand.
Lani
The packet is full of good information. Easy format to understand! Exciting for sure! I’m on my way to 100% plant based and gives great ideas for working with people in your family who have not made their way over yet!
Thanks!
Wendy, I’m so glad it looks like a good tool to you – and it sounds like perfect timing! I’ll be interested to know how family members respond to the brochure. Thanks for sharing and all best as you move forward on your journey!
Lani
This is a wonderful pamphlet! Thanks for sharing, Lani. My husband and I have been lamenting that most physicians and medical practices have little knowledge of, nor inclination to promote, a whole foods plant based eating plan with all of its benefits. It’s refreshing to see that Kaiser has stepped up – cheers to them! I will share this with my friends, who have become curious about what I eat, since I’ve lost over 30 pounds and am less than 5 pounds from my goal weight. They have asked me lots of questions and now want to know what my favorite cookbooks, web sites and recipes are. They always love the food I bring to our regular gatherings, so I’m hoping that they will move toward healthier eating, too.
Wow Barbara, congratulations on your success! I’m so glad you like the brochure and hope it proves to be a helpful tool to you in sharing the message. Keep me posted!
Lani
Thanks so much for sharing this great resource, Lani! My only concern is that they talk about limiting nuts, seeds, whole grains and starchy vegetables if you are trying to lose weight. As you and probably most of your readers know, there is a lot of debate within the plant-based community as to whether nuts/seeds and starches should be included or limited in the diet for weight loss. With all of the discrepancies, I sometimes worry that the average person transitioning will get confused, and ultimately turned off and go back to eating the SAD. I think the authors of the brochure did a nice job of summarizing the basic recommendations that most of the plant-based “rock stars” agree on.
I absolutely agree, Sharon. You voiced my exact response! Every time I’d get to some soft language about nuts, oils and sugar I’d cringe! That’s not what they need to hear. Believe me…I know! I wasted so much time tying to lose weight on Fuhrman’s Nutritarian diet and finally gave up after six months and went to McDougall. (The weight’s “draining off” now. Such a relief to know I can lose weight!) This brochure is gorgeous and well organized, it’s just a shame it didn’t take the opportunity to be a little more honest about the nuts and include more specifics on the health dangers of sugar and refined oils. I agree. Lack of results will be frustrating. And – there is not one word about salt. That’s kind of strange! But I guess they’re trying not to “scare” patients off from jumping in a trying to accomplish a transition.I know it scared me 20 years ago when I was first told to look at it for my health issues. I opted for the drug route instead, and of course now I’m beating myself up about being so stupid!…lol.
Thanks for sharing Lanni! Just that a professonal health provider is actually offering this kind of info is like a major milestone for human welfare! Yippi!
Hi Penny!
I love that you came in and commented today and shared your thoughts. Soft language can indeed be annoying! We also need to keep in mind how people learn and change. The plant-based journey must be one of joy, good food, celebration and fun while we learn the science and make our transitions. And the truth is, some people do transitions better in stages while others go all in from the start – some of them staying on, others deflecting if they aren’t prepared enough for change and just try hacking their way to health. It’s a village out there!
I had a similar personal experience to yours – perhaps you’ve read the Nutrition chapter in my Fit Quickies book, which provides more details – when I wasn’t eating enough of the starchies to keep me satisfied. Once I GOT that,and gave up the oils, weight management was so much easier! These ideas will be underscored in depth in the Plant-Based Journey. As for the nuts, in my experience there are variations on health and weight response within that theme.
Congratulations on your success and thanks again for adding to the conversation!
Lani
Sharon, thanks so much for your comments. You say “With all of the discrepancies, I sometimes worry that the average person transitioning will get confused, and ultimately turned off and go back to eating the SAD”, which underscores precisely why an introductory guide has to stick to the basics. If it were to start talking about all the possible variations out there, it would be more confusing than helpful.
In my book The Plant-Based Journey I hard line the oil as I think it is most helpful – but I also have a lot more space in which to make the point. To add this kind of info to an introductory brochure would take another couple of pages. I also bring up salt and sugar in the book, but I present in a way for people to find out some of the problems with them without hardlining them. Some people do not have as much problem with them as others, and as helpful as having the knowledge about the problems they can present, to make no salt and no sugar a RULE will make the plant-based movement dead in the water and are not science-based rules for healthy success in the way that oils are.
This points out the fact that we each need to find what, within the plant-based realm, works for us. For example, some people do well with more nuts or seeds than others. Some people can eat whole grain bread freely, others have to stick to taters to reach their goals. Then we have to sort out priorities, too. I could probably have another 1/2 inch of my waist if I gave up bread or never drank a glass of awine, but that doesn’t pass the rocking chair test for me. Let’s be happy, healthy eaters!
This is awesome. Thanks so much Lani for bringing it to our attention. I will send it to my kids who are trying to include more plant-based food into their diets. I have been considering Kaiser Permanente as my Medicare provider and this may be the deciding factor! We’ll see how many of their doctors actually advocate this to their patients.
Kathy,
You’ll have to let me know how your kids like the brochure. I think it sends a positive energy and has a beautiful layout – first impressions count!
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
Lani
Hi Lani,
Thank you for sharing this! I am a soon to be health coach and my preferred target market is too work with people who want to transition to a plant based diet. This is a great tool for doing that! I live in Canada so we don’t have HMO’s so it is refreshing to see this coming from one. Not many doctor’s here that I have come across know enough about a plant based diet let alone help their patients with one. This is where I hope to come in to bridge the gap.
Looking forward to your new book coming out too!
Kari,
I’m so excited for you! How will you be doing your work – privately? I am glad the brochure will be a help to you as you get started, and thank you so much for the enthusiasm about my book!
Keep me posted on how things progress,
Lani
Thanks Lani!
I will work privately with clients through one-on-one meetings, phone and Skype. I would like to partner with a few medical professionals who would like their patients on a plant based diet but don’t have the time or knowledge to do it. There are so many great resources out there, including your books, that help so many people but most don’t know where to start. I will be their “guide on the side” leading them down the path to plant based “enlightenment”. Following in your footsteps!
Kari, this sound wonderful! I’d love to hear more about your training and certifications. Where in Canada are you?
Keep up the good work!
Lani
Hi Lani,
I am taking my health coach training through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). I have a B.Ed. in Early Childhood Education and taught kindergarten and Grade One for awhile. I currently home school two of my three children. We live on a small island in British Columbia. Health and Fitness has always been my passion and since we live on an island being able to work with clients through Skype or by phone will be great. My mom has been a personal trainer/fitness instructor since I was a teenager and she has been a big influence on me. She is still teaching and going strong at 71 yrs.!
Sounds excellent Kari!
Lani
Thank you for passing on this information. I am a long time Kaiser member and believe they are interested in illness prevention more than illness treatment, so I am pleased they are taking a leadership position in Plant-based nutrition. Yes, it is in there financial interest to service less health issues, but it is also in our best interest to not have health issues. So this is a “win-win” and isn’t that usually the best answer?
Absolutely! win-win and thanks so much for sharing from the perspective of Kaiser insider!
Lani
Wow, I love seeing insurance companies produce material such as this. The advice is clear & simple to understand. This will help many people transition to a plant-based diet.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Lani!
Hi Carissa! Isn’t this great? I appreciate that you popped in to comment!
Lani
Thanks, Lani, for sharing this – extremely helpful material in a short brochure! I will be sharing in my community, for sure.
I am pleased to see that the authors chose the middle path, so to speak, between the sectors of the plant-based community who emphasize starches and those who include nuts & seeds for weight loss. Personally I did the McDougall plan for years and maintained a comfortable weight but switched over to Fuhrman and lost another 10 pounds effortlessly.
What we eat is just not one-size-fits all, which is good! This needs to be an individual choice – I advise folks to become the scientists of their own bodies to see what works best for them.
In the end we are all advocates of a whole foods, plant-based diet, which is best for people, animals, and the environment 🙂
Jean,
Thank you! And we are on the same page, as you say: “In the end we are all advocates of a whole foods, plant-based diet, which is best for people, animals, and the environment”. I couldn’t agree more. And that is one of the reasons I am so pleased about this brochure – it bridges gaps and gives wiggle room for individual preference, within the plant-based parameters. I do that in the Plant-Based Journey, too.
So glad you are doing so well!
This came at the perfect time, Lani! We had just listened to and been inspired by the week-long Food Summit of John and Ocean Robbins a short time ago, and were just telling friends of ours about our diet which is basically what is contained in the brochure. Of course, I sent this to them right away. And we have been looking for a new doctor who is supportive of our diet and lifestyle. We’re headed to Kaiser!
Thanks, Lani. We so appreciate your generosity in sharing this with us. We’ve passed your website on to our friends, who have just begun this journey to a healthier diet.
Nancy,
Your note actually gave me chills – the good kind! What a wonderful confluence of events and I’m so excited for you and your friends. Keep me posted on all!
Wow! I left Kaiser over several issues, one of which was the lack of support for my plant based lifestyle, so it’s great to see that they are evolving! Just printed the brochure and will share with loved ones. I’m in shock, but it’s a good shock!
Eileen – I know, can you believe that things actually might be shifting out there? Thanks for sharing your story!
Huge, huge kudos to Kaiser Permanente for creating this delightfully direct patient information! Thanks for you too for sharing. Our daughter, now in her third year of med school, and several of her classmates have bemoaned how little instruction they have received on nutrition. Its going to really make her smile to see Kaiser P’s good work! Looking forward to seeing your book soon.
Hi Emily! Thanks for sharing about your daughter – and for your enthusiastic and kind comments!
Lani
Love this! So confirming that this is being recognized by the medical community. Love that all the resources are already my favs! The physician pamphlet is good for helping your doc understand better your way of living/eating. Thanks for sharing!
Jude – isn’t it great? I’m so glad you like it! An easy download for sharing with others, too.
Lani
This is wonderful and I will share on my FB Page – I became plant based a year ago in February – have lost 105 lbs.
Great Jerri! So glad you can use it.
Lani