Plant Chat: Alona Pulde, MD co-author of Forks Over Knives Family

It’s such a pleasure to have Alona Pulde, MD, half of the amazing plant-based duo (along with her husband, Matthew Lederman, MD) who wrote the new book   Forks Over Knives Family,   on my blog today. They both specialize in nutrition and lifestyle medicine and together they have created a lifestyle-improvement program used in their medical center   Transition to Health   (based in Los Angeles) and for patients in the film   Forks Over Knives.   They also coauthored   Keep It Simple, Keep It Whole   and the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan. Matt and Alona currently live in my hometown of Los Angeles, with their daughters Kylee (age 4) and Jordan (age 2). As if they are not busy enough, the team is also working with   Whole Foods Market   overseeing various health and wellness projects. Get ready to be inspired with Alona’s interview on plant-based living.

What inspired you to personally take on a plant-based lifestyle?

Initially, it was spending time with doctors implementing a plant-based lifestyle with their patients and seeing the amazing health benefits they were getting. As physicians, Matt and I were very disappointed and disillusioned with the conventional medical system. We both went into medicine in hopes of helping and healing people and found we were doing neither with the limited arsenal (i.e., pills and procedures) we had. Watching patients in just a ten day plant-based immersion lose weight, drop blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol numbers and overall feel more energetic and vital was a game changer. We got into this “business” to help patients actually get better and finally had the tools to do so. And what could benefit our patients would certainly benefit us, so how could we do anything but take on a plant-based lifestyle?

How do you use this lifestyle in your practice as physicians?

We like to take a medical approach that embodies the proverb, “When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.” As such, we propose nutrition and lifestyle change first and foremost, wherever appropriate (and it almost always is) before pills and procedures. What is so gratifying as a physician is to see that every patient that incorporates a plant-based lifestyle does better, gets better, feels better. The bigger the changes the more dramatic the results, but being and staying on the right trajectory is ultimately what matters.

How did you introduce this lifestyle at home?

We were fortunate that our children were born into this lifestyle, as Matt and I had already adopted it before I got pregnant. So, although they don’t know different from a plant-based lifestyle, we still have similar challenges of introducing new foods, new dishes, and new flavors. We have a number of strategies that have worked for us so far from:

• Basing dishes on already established favorites. For example, our 2-year old loves potatoes. So we try and build meals around potatoes or add them to our dishes.
• Getting creative with meal time. Our 4 ½ year old loves puzzles. So sometimes when introducing a new dish we place her food in such a way that it covers the princesses on her favorite plate. Her job then becomes to eat the meal and thereby uncover the picture beneath.
• Letting our little “directors” lead. We not only take the girls’ shopping with us but we often get them involved in making our meals. In the former, they get to pick some of the foods they want to see on their plates and in their lunches (Jordan loves apples, cauliflower, and whole-wheat pita and hummus; Kylee loves mangoes, veggies burgers, and potatoes). And in the latter, they get to make the dish they then serve us all – which is not only fun for them but they have vested pride and fascination in eating their “inventions.”

What are the unique benefits for plant-based diets for children?

The most unique benefit to children on a whole food plant-based diet is that they start years ahead of adults to nourish their bodies with the most nutritious and health promoting foods available. In this way, they don’t ever have to struggle with being overweight or obese or suffer from so many of the diet induced chronic diseases we are facing today including diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers (which often starts developing in childhood). With the epidemic of diabetes now spreading to our children, heart disease remaining our number one killer, and obesity spiraling out of control with 66% of Americans on a “Standard American Diet” being overweight, 33% of those are obese and about 17% are children – there is no better time than now for everyone (and especially our children) to get on a whole food plant based diet.

What are some of the challenges families can face when it comes to getting the whole family on board with a plant-based diet?

As with any changes in the family, bringing the unfamiliar in and replacing it with the familiar can be challenging. There may be an initial resistance, and possible resentment, to adapting to something new. Some family members may be at different stages with regards to their interest or capacity for transition. While a few may be early adapters ready to jump in 100%, others may need additional time to get used to the idea or never be quite ready for a 100% transformation. Recognizing and addressing the different needs that may arise for your family will make it easier to feel heard and understood and more likely may result in family members being willing to collaborate rather than sabotage.

What are some of the special considerations families should take into account when it comes to a balanced, nutritionally adequate plant-based diet for their children?

The beauty about a whole food plant-based diet is that it provides almost all of the nutrients, both macro (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) and micro (vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals) that we need. There are two exceptions: The first, vitamin B12 is not made by plant or animal but instead by a bacteria living in dirt. Animals eating dirt accumulate B12. For those choosing a 100% whole food plant based diet, vitamin B12 should be supplemented. The second is vitamin D which is produced when our skin is exposed to the sun. If you are avoiding sun exposure, it would may benefit you to consider vitamin D supplementation.

Please share some of your best, kid-friendly tips for plant-based eating the whole family will love.

Start your transition by keeping it simple and keeping it familiar. If your kids like cereal in the morning, keep having cereal in the morning and try a variety of non-dairy milks. If they prefer pancakes, try a plant based version. Same for lunch and dinner. Mac-n-“cheeze” or whole wheat bread with your choice of peanut butter and jelly or avocado or hummus with vegetables make fantastic lunches. And a Black Eyed Pea burger and baked fries or a Veggie Pizza can become family favorites for dinner.

Focus on any whole plant based foods they already love. If your child loves cauliflower but won’t touch broccoli, prefers whole wheat pasta over brown rice, or loves potatoes but can’t even look at a sweet potato or squash – then great, you have a ton of equally healthy options to start with that they will be more apt to enjoy!

Keep it fun and positive. Your attitude goes a long way in formulating that of your child’s. If you believe in the health promoting benefits of this diet, remember that even on your current diet you don’t like every dish you make, maintain an open mind to the many possibilities that lie ahead with plant-based food choices, and enjoy the improvements in your own health and well-being- then you will be setting the example that your family needs to be successful.

What are 5 foods that you always have on hand in your home?

We always have fruits (bananas, apples, berries, melons, and mango); vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and salad greens); potatoes and sweet potatoes, whole grains (millet, brown rice, oats, and quinoa as well as whole grain pastas); and legumes (garbanzo beans, black beans, kidney beans).