These are the kind of stories that made me change the way I ate. I am an animal lover through and through but, in fact, that is not what led me to give up animal products and adopt a plant-based diet. Up until I read My Beef With Meat and was first introduced to the concept of a whole food, plant-based diet, I really, truly believed we needed animal products such as meat and dairy to be healthy. In educating myself I learned that eating animal products is not only unnecessary, but downright detrimental to our health. And trust me, I know it gets confusing out there. I know there is contradictory information everywhere you look about what to eat and what not to eat. But in this world of constant contradictions what made everything *click* for me were stories like this of people going from such ill-health to such amazing, life-long, sustainable good health; stories of people curing themselves of conditions and diseases I once believed were incurable. And since first picking up that life-changing book and embarking on this journey, I have learned countless stories like these of extraordinary health transformations through plant-based eating. Maybe these stories will resonate with you like they did me, or maybe they won’t…but I certainly want to give you the opportunity to hear of success stories like these and make that decision for yourself. Here are six stories of extraordinary health transformations from Forks Over Knives.

How We Shed Nearly 300 Pounds, Multiple Symptoms, and All of Our Meds…in Just Two Years!

Ed and Lori experienced a total transformation once they started eating healthier and adopted a plant-based diet. Ed had suffered from obesity, hip pain, snoring, nasal allergies and acid reflux. Lori had also suffered from obesity, aches and pains, borderline high blood pressure, digestive issues and breathlessness just from simple tasks like walking up the stairs in her house. Their health drastically began to improve within days of adopting a plant-based diet. They’re now healthier than ever and off all their medications. Read their full story here.

How I Lost 140 Pounds, Cured My Type 2 Diabetes, and Saved Thousands in Medications

At 51 years old Eric was in bad shape, his total cholesterol was 300, he had type 2 diabetes, his blood pressure was 160/100, he was overweight, constantly exhausted and on tons of medications. His doctor told him he would not live more than a few years. He believed this was just his destiny and there was nothing he could do. But it was actually a heartbreaking encounter on an airplane that led him to change his life and regain his health. Read his full story here.

Plant-Based Diet Has Me Winning My Long Hard Battle with Ulcerative Colitis

At just 28 Somer suffered from a debilitating case of ulcerative colitis, an autoimmune disorder that caused her severe abdominal pain, the need to use the bathroom up to 30 times a day and days on end where she couldn’t leave the house because she felt so terrible. She was put on steroids and strong prescription medications to control her condition. The medications caused her to rapidly gain 75 pounds. And while the medications offered her temporary relief from her symptoms, she still struggled with recurrent flare-ups. After adopting a whole food, plant-based diet she is now completely off all her medications, feeling better than ever and her ulcerative colitis is in remission. Read her full story here.

How This Family Doctor Lost 75 Pounds Easily Without Portion Control

As a physician, Steve was constantly trying to help his patients and himself control chronic illness and lose weight. But it never seemed to work. In medical school he learned very little about nutrition. Instead he was taught that the only ways to treat illness were medications, procedures and surgery. Learning about plant-based eating restored his hope for his own well-being and the well-being of his patients. He lost 75 pounds over just eight months with plant-based eating and now his practice is devoted to teaching others about plant-based nutrition. Read his full story here.

How I Reversed My Diabetes and Stopped All My Medications with a Plant-Based Diet

Marc came from a family of eight children. As an adult his mother and seven out of his eight siblings were riddled with complications from type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Marc was diagnosed with diabetes the same year that his mother passed away from the disease. When he needed to start injecting insulin he asked his doctor if he would ever be able to manage his disease and stop injecting insulin. His doctor simply answered, “No.” He felt defeated and hopeless. After watching Forks Over Knives he learned that his health conditions were not the result of genes or a predisposition, but instead from the food he ate. In less than two months (JUST TWO MONTHS!) he was off all medications and has been medication free for over three years. Read his full story here.

Cancer-Free without Chemo…Thanks to Dr. McDougall and Forks Over Knives

In 2012 Kelly was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer known as invasive ductal carcinoma, triple negative. She was scheduled to have surgery, which would be followed by an aggressive regimen of chemotherapy and radiation. Just two days before her surgery she happened to watch Forks Over Knives. After the surgery, instead of starting chemotherapy and radiation, she participated in Dr. McDougall’s Health & Medical Center 10 Day Live-In Program and became his patient. The experience was transformative for her and after 18 months of eating a plant-based diet and walking for 30 mins a day, she is cancer-free without ever having done the chemotherapy or radiation. Seeing her amazing recovery her husband also adopted a plant-based diet and lost 30 pounds. He no longer needs his once daily antacids, allergy medications or Naproxen that he took for joint pain. Read their full story here.

Pretty remarkable stories of restoring health and wellness, aren’t they? And they are just six out of countless stories of extraordinary health transformations. Can you recall the last time (if ever) that you ate a meal without any animal products whatsoever? That means no meat, no fish, no poultry, no butter, no eggs, no yogurt, no milk and no dairy at all. It’s scary sometimes to realize just how many animal products we really do consume.

I hope some of you find these stories as inspirational as I do. If you suffer from any of the chronic illnesses or conditions that we have come to accept as normal in our culture, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, sleep issues, indigestion, cancer, autoimmune disorders, erectile dysfunction, acne, allergies, etc., there is hope! And please know that you are always welcome to email me directly at tedisarahblog@gmail.com and I would be more than happy to point you in the right direction for getting you on the path to a healthier you.

You can find more success stories from the Forks Over Knives site here.

xo,

Tedi

All pictures in this post are from the Forks Over Knives website.