that explains the essential connections between the mouth and overall wellness. “People need to be educated, or re-educated, to take ownership of their health by remembering the basic premise that their bodies can be healthy if they get the right nutrients to facilitate and support that basic process.” Campbell agrees that more people need to be educated. A major theme


in his latest book, Te Future of Nutrition, is how to siſt through the conflicting information that exists.


Healthier Helpings As the food industry continues to woo Americans with fast and easy processed foods, there are consumer shiſts taking place. “About a quarter of U.S. adults are trying to manage a health or medical condition by making healthy food and beverage choices,” stated the NPD Group consumer research firm in 2019. “Younger adults, ages 18 to 24, are particularly interested in using foods to improve their health.” It turns out that it’s most beneficial to focus on adding what


is needed for optimal health, instead of worrying about what to eliminate. As William Li, M.D., counsels in Eat to Beat Disease, “Human nature abhors deprivation.” As president of the Angiogenesis Foundation, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Li advises us to “practice health care at home every day in our own kitchens.” He suggests frequently eating such simple, but disease-defying foods as dark chocolate, walnuts, kiwis, sourdough bread and sauerkraut. “I recommend participating in bigger box stores. Tey do a great


job at making high-quality food available at an inexpensive price,” says McDowell. She also suggests batch cooking and planning meals ahead for the week.


Te Power of Plants Plant-based eating is finally becoming mainstream, thanks in part to such eye-opening documentaries as Forks Over Knives, Earthlings, PlantPure Nation and Food, Inc. Research backs up the benefits. In a 2019 study in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Johns Hopkins researchers report that in a 30-year period, people eating a mostly plant-based diet were 32 percent less likely to die from a cardiovascular condition and 25 percent less likely to die from any cause. A 2017 report published in International Journal of Epidemiology suggests that fruits and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of many chronic diseases and may protect against certain types of cancers. For treatment, reversal and prevention of chronic disease, the


American College of Lifestyle Medicine, in Chesterfield, Missouri, recommends eating a primarily plant-based diet containing minimally processed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Campbell says that moving to a 100 percent plant-based diet “and


staying there for one to three months, provides an opportunity for virtually everyone to finally crave a salad on a regular basis. Tis is a place wherein people have little or no interest to backslide because their taste preferences have profoundly changed.” As plant-based eating gains momentum, there are more imitation meat


products. Tese foods can be helpful to transition away from meat, but Campbell cautions, “Tey do not replace the whole plant-based foods, even though they are plant-based, because salt, sugar and added oil are usually added.”


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