Quillan Through the Years, Cardiovascular Disease, & Dr Kim Williams (again)
What started out as a week aimed to zero-in on Q and treat him to a whole birthday week of attention (<—rare for a kiddo raised with we-should-be-thinking-beyond-ourselves upbringing), was quickly derailed by a call asking Crystal and me to host a plant-based cooking demo in our (Cappello) home kitchen for Channel 3 News next Tues.
What would have been time spent out in forest was redirected to polishing up all the nooks and cracks of this ol’ Victorian —which could have been cause for Q wailing— but that birthday boy was by my side the whole while (helping out) and excitedly making visual analogies about “plant-based kindness —for the earth, and for the animals, and for the bodies— like spreading out in this wave of green, and there’s all these people that don’t even know the wave is coming yet, but the more people we change, the more people they change, and we may just fix everything and wrap it entirely in green! This is going to be great! On the TV so many more people are going to wake up!” He’s a sweet, impassioned dreamer.
Continue for: Yearly Photo Project for the sweet soul who’s already woken up a handful of families to kinder feasting (<—he also fake-faints in joy, each time he hears of a new one); The Systems of the Body (Kindergarten Journal Theme of the Week); Dr. Kim Williams again (<—Who’s Dr. Williams? Past President of American College of Cardiology, chairman of the board of the Association of Black Cardiologists, well known for his famous quote: “There are two kinds of cardiologists: vegans and those who haven’t read the data.”); and examples of what that now six-year-old plant-based powerhouse was eating this week.
Live Kindly, Feast Kindly, Grow Forward.
A quad once took to look back and celebrate his first 2 years, but is also the header for an environmental call-to-action essay that makes me worry and wail for his 30s.
”I --like most of you-- knew that we were impacting the environmental stability of all species, but didn't quite understand how and why in such a crystallized form until I sat in on the CNY Youth Climate Summit last November. Hundreds of children gathered from across our communities to learn about environmental issues, and prepare game plans for propelling their districts forward.
Snuggled into that line up was an hour long talk by professor Bruce Monger.
Four-year-old Q perched himself under a desk with some distractionary toys, and that lecture waved over us with horrifyingly clear detail about how we were marching toward acidifying our oceans to a point of NO RETURN by ***2050*** That is if people do not start making changes RIGHT NOW.
This isn't purposeless hair-on-fire shock. This is: GUYS there are planetary imperatives urging us to adopt a Plant-Based diet for the sake of environmental stability (ie a habitable future for our children, water for them to drink, for millions of species to not wither away in extinction, etc). Best part? Plant-Based feasting is tied to robust health and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, etc. So we can bolster our health, spread compassion, and preserve this precious planet meal-by-meal, step-by-step.
Why would we remain in standstill?
As I stated in yesterday's post, I'm all about imperfectly stumbling forward (that's what I did. that's what most doctors I follow did, etc); but what I hear far too often is straight up denial and determination to continue status quo.
How old will your children be in 2050?
How old will your grandchildren be?!
Need a casual, mind-shaking, yet also inspiring podcast that’ll illuminate to you what we’re up against by 2050 if folks keep eating animal products the way they are? Set aside an hour and list to this podcast interview with Environmental Researcher Nicholas Carter with Simon Hill (Nutritionist).
Topics included: What are the implications of a warming planet? The major greenhouse gases – Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Nitrous Oxide. Importance of understanding land use, deforestation and carbon sequestration when land is left alone. Animal versus plant based foods and their environmental impact. Holistic grazing (form of regenerative agriculture proposed by Alan Savoury and Game Brown etc) – is it a climate change solution? Top tips that we can implement on an individual basis to lower our environmental footprint. Etc
This is the kind of information that shook me awake a few years ago, that is harked in We Are The Weather, and we NEED to start internalizing so we can make steps forward.
It isn’t all doom and gloom if we all start moving forward!
I don’t care how imperfectly those steps are: I just care that they are happening. That every day is bringing us further and further forward; because once you start *hearing* the science, you understand that the alternative is food shortages, water shortages, worse storms, dead reefs, and an acidified ocean....and by golly, those count far more than taste and old habits. ”
Quillan: Three Years
For 12 months and an additional annual, he was placed on his white baby-shower blanket with a banner I felt reflected the paramount happenings for that month/year; but he’s grown too big for blanket photos and he has an artistic mind of his own. So, we developed a new system. From here on out: we will use this trusty re-purposed chalkboard, we (or he) will add the age, he will color it in however he desires, and then stand next to his creation.
I, then, get the joy of annual photo projects and the folly of finding words to describe a growing soul.
Three-Year-Old Quill is a raconteur to his core. He spins yarns all the livelong day and through his sleep. (Most frequent dream topic: donuts.) The large orange section in this drawing is “A scarecrow with no arms because they are in his pockets.”; and a recent Quill-ism involves him holding up his palms like a wizard and saying, “PSSHH! I just zapped you with happiness!”
He can be quite guarded in social situations, but is a sweet-souled thespian when comfortable. His hugs are as discerning as they are earnest.
He is a pluviophile and a general outdoor enthusiast, who also loves movies (current obsession: Box Trolls) and playing for hours with his father’s old Star Wars micromachines. He is passionate about fashion (his style is 100% his choosing), costumes, and capes; and with those elements crafts up characters that are always running through our house with swords or shooting arrows.
The kid has moxie, a trickster twinkle, and the soft heart of an empath; and I remain thankful for every day we get to revolve around the sun together.
Quillan: Four Years
In a breath we’ve sailed from infancy to small boyhood. This year he has stretched like a stalk and lost his luxurious locks, but his core Quillisms have crystallized.
He’s been an imaginative raconteur since birth, so we still hear “I’m pretending…” countless times through the day, but he now uses that gift to weave together stories of creatures he loves, how human waste affects them, and how we can turn the tide. These tales are often painted/drawn/scrawled in dramatic flourishes or sown to random strangers and unsuspecting loved ones. I take a breath, sit back, and watch him fill the world with truth and direction through watery eyes.
His passion for costumes continues to flame and is currently entwined with his zeal for cephalopods. He wears striped leggings almost every day (because he insists he wants the legs of a mimic octopus), he’s generally wearing some manner of squid shirt he has a million narratives about, and he occasionally wears skirts or dresses because he’ll tell you that vampire octopuses have skirts and he’s a warrior octopus in disguise.
He’s creative, empathetic (when he heard SNAP benefits were going to be cut, his immediate response was, “Well we’ll just take them grocery shopping and feed them in our house!”), obsessed with food (he still dreams about food/wakes up asking things like "Where's that muffin you were talkin' about?"/dances at the sight of a peanut butter bowl), drawn to older souls (his 3 best friends are north of 40), a wild thing (he’s happiest knee deep in a stream), and perspicacious: "ready insight into and understanding of things.”
At a loss in words/sleep/brain matter to end this yearly narrative, I asked him what he loves most and it went as follows: “Well, octopuses and the universe, of course! Because everything I love is in the universe...but how would we get ooooout of the universe?”
“...Wow...well, that’s a great answer… Um, I’m not sure how we would leave the universe: it encompasses all we know.”
“Mama, we could use a portal.”
Quillan 5 Years
Like a nautilus wrapping around tiny replicants of its past self, this energetic soul continues to amplify his core Quillisms.
The day I don’t hear “I’m pretending” from sun-up to sun-down, will be a day of shock and sadness. He lives so much in his own head, I often shake my own in wonder than he was born to a documentarian Mama Bear, because he may otherwise never remember the places he was actually physically inhabiting.
He spins fantastical stories breathlessly yet has a searing mind for facts; so like the cephalopods and tentacles he’s obsessed with, everything is a tangle of wonder and truth. Last year, he used that tiny voice to raise awareness of environmental issues, and now that he is thriving on a plant-based/whole-foods diet he rattles off data-sets faster than I or most adults. What he speaks are pure, research-backed truths, but his earnestness to save the world (and his loved ones) has pushed this Mama Bear to step out of her comfortable Midwestern shell to back him up. (It felt misguided to continue to quiet him when he was speaking out of love and fact; as he grows, I grow.)
His voice and imagination continue to propel him into a feast of physical activities: hiking (is always some adventure tale that is narrated for the duration), wrestling (always some character/creature is in his place while he’s doing this favorite past-time with Ian or friends), running (he rarely walks, it’s either hopping or running and always away or toward some imagined destination), and storytelling (if you’ve seen him tell a story, you’ll know that it is a full-body sport of drama and flourish).
He remains as artfully vectored as his parents. If he isn’t drawing, painting, sculpting, building something with his own two hands, he’s crafting in his mind.
Five years ago today, the first words I spoke to him were, "Hi, Sweetpea!” and he's forever lived up to the name. He is empathetic, encouraging, helpful, kind-hearted, and poetic with affirmations of love.
His whole electric, creative, keen, kind, trickstery atmosphere leaves us in a daily daze of heart-flutter & gratitude for revolving around the sun with his sweet soul!
Quillan 6 Years
I looked back on the annual essays written to celebrate this spark’s birth, and the themes run deep, with one big change: this is the first year he was fully plant-based and he’s never been healthier. After years of at-least-quarterly pediatrician visits, he hasn’t been sick in over a year & he’s launched right out of his “failure-to-thrive” diagnosis!
What’s constant? He’s still a tempest of storytelling, silver-linings, art, movement, music-zeal, imagination, perspicacious curiosity, a repeat track of “I’m pretending…”, and big-hearted LOVE. He’s empathetic and caring to all; he’ll break into tears at the mention of Elijah McClain, but is nerdy enough to draw a flerken in with the cats that cruelly-killed young man once played to; and (as seen by his chalkboard) he’s obsessed with botany & carnivorous plants, but if you balk he’s quick to say something like, “But they NEED to eat bugs to live; humans don’t need to eat animals to live, but no one seems to care about all the animals they’re hurting.”
He’s only grown more passionate/vocal about the treatment of the earth/animals, and if you’ve followed along the years and thought, “Man, I love that kid! I wonder what he’s going to be when he grows up...” consider making some changes to your lifestyle so he has a future to grow into. He already fills our hours with heartbroken confusion at humanity’s relentless destruction, and he worries the babies he dreams of won’t have a livable environment.
All of the above, makes me cling to the preciousness of his youth with a fury, while simultaneously klaxon-howling with a love-filled wail for the future.
He’s the most loved thing in our realm, but he is a *speck* in the grander scheme.
Our choices have impacts on every species and ecosystem on this earth. According to the United Nations: Plant-Based Diets can reduce your environmental impact up to 70%; they have VAST health benefits, and you save a soul from suffering.
What a glorious gift to this sweet soul, yourself, & everything else, eh?
Q working hard on that chalkboard.
Q’s birthday night.
At dinner, he said "Soon today is just going to be a memory. Like...last year, I thought 'I'm FIVE!’ and by next year, I'll be just looking back on this day and remembering it while I'm then seven. It's nice to have so many good memories!"
Time is swift, our hearts are light, and I'm daily grateful to be revolving around the sun with a sweethearted son who says "Thank you SO MUCH!!" to each little gift, revels in time with his family, designs (and helps make) his own Plant-Based birthday cake (chocolate chip cookie cake layers, with a cashew cream and chocolate cream filling, and Miyoko's cashew cream cheese frosting, with all the sprinkles ), squeals like a Beatles fan at his birthday sundew, and gives his grandparents lessons in carnivorous plants and tablet drawing. (<—Videos and pics from that on Instagram.)
He gets big-love and lobs it right back.
And via paternal perfection and interest-driven homeschooling, that keen Plant-Based brain keeps buzzing.
Kindergarten Journal Theme of the Week: Systems of the Body
This topic was requested by Ian and has been hopping around on the backburner while Q burned steam on other themes that he was itching to write about, but Boy Howdy am I happy we finally got to it, because it’s some of his best work yet (<-- GOOD GRAVY did he put some care into the endocrine system!🤯) and I’m still laugh-crying over Thursday’s Reproductive System (<--- “I messed up with the marker, tried to fix it, only made it worse, and...this is not my best penis. I don’t want to do the whole page over again. Can I just write, “Not my best penis?”) 😂
What’s the body fuel he peppered all over these drawings? A wild array of plant-based foods & a big glass of water. 🖖
The more I learn about the connection of body-health/gut-health/earth-health, the more driven I am to howl until we are all on a kinder path.
We know fully well why eating another souls flesh isn’t kind to that soul (and that the animal agriculture businesses is ruining our environment), but why is it again that they are bad for us?
they create TMAO (Trimethylamine N-Oxide) which is a metabolite caused when you consume of animal products. How does this work? Animal products are high in choline (all of them: beef/dairy, pig, chicken, eggs, and fish), when choline hits your gut micro-biome it is converted to TMA, and your liver converts the TMA to TMAO. TMAO is associated with cardiovascular decay, colon cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, kidney disease, increased diabetes risk, the list goes on.
animal products are directly tied to cancer which is on the rise.
animal products have harmful, untied-to-fiber saturated fats that lead to cardiovascular disease
Want some more info on TMAO? Below is from the American College of Cardiology:
Yoriko Heianza, RD, PhD, et al., examined 760 women in the Nurses' Health Study, a prospective cohort study of 121,701 female registered nurses aged 30 to 55 years old. Women were asked to report data on dietary patterns, smoking habit and physical activity, plus other demographic data and provide two blood samples taken at Cleveland Clinic, 10 years apart.
The researchers measured plasma concentrations of TMAO from the first collection to the second blood collection. After adjusting for participants with available plasma TMAO levels at both collections, there were 380 cases of CHD and 380 demographically matched-control participants without CHD chosen by the researchers included in the analysis.
Results showed that women who developed CHD had higher concentrations of TMAO levels, higher BMI, family history of myocardial infarction and did not follow a healthy diet including higher intake of vegetables and lower intake of animal products. Women with the largest increases in TMAO levels across the study had a ****67**** percent higher risk of CHD.
If you want beautiful, well-explained, long-form clinical reasons through an evidence-based approach, you need to set aside the time to listen to this current (they talk in depth about COVID and cardiovascular health too) interview with Dr Kim Williams on the Plant Prescription Podcast (<—two earnest/-whip-smart medical students from TO interviewing some of the best doctors in the world).
They cover:
His prowess as a tennis player & why he became vegan
Modifiable risk factors for COVID-19
Protecting children early
The role of sugar, sat fat & cholesterol
How heme iron (found in meat) oxidizes cholesterol
His thoughts on the health effects of coconut oil, fish oil, & dairy
Reversal of heart disease
The role of statins
High HDL & mortality
Or another great one (but a little bit older) is on the Plant Proof Podcast with physiotherapist Simon Hill.
It explains:
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease around the world
Kim’s path to Medicine
How tennis kept him fit, but is also clinically tied to cardiovascular health
Nutrition training during Medical School
Being elected President of the American College of Cardiology
The difference between the ACC/AHA guidelines and the USDA dietary guidelines
The role of industry in effecting guidelines
How he explains to patients the importance of changing their diet
What dietary components increase your risk of developing atherosclerosis (narrowing of the artery with plaque build up)
Why LDL cholesterol is an independent risk factor
What a heart healthy diet looks like
why you want to avoid Impossible Burgers
Changes he would like to see in the 2020 USDA dietary guidelines
Government policy changes he would like to see
Community outreach he does to help with folks living in food deserts
The types of foods he likes to eat in his own diet
and much much more
We’ve benefited greatly by growing forward with the advice laid out by cardiologists like Dr. Williams, are healthier/stronger/happier than ever, and you could be too.
How does he make such detailed drawings? He loves to use references.
And like a mini version of his father, he uses rulers for neatness. (<—-he did not get that from me. :-D)
Obviously not ruler-drawn lines :-D, but here’s an example of what Q was eating this week. Accordingly to our leading gastroenterologists and Dietitians, we should be aiming for 30+ different plants each week.
Why? To keep your microbiome (<—which thrives on and requires fiber) happy, because gut-health is directly tied to overall health.
Want a great (free) group to follow, where a nutritionist is giving you ever-helpful advice on plant-based pediatric nutrition? Check out Kiran Sidhu. Want a great Pediatrician podcast also focusing on best health for kiddos? Check out Dr Yami'‘s “Veggie Doctor Radio”.
Taco Salad bowls with lentil taco “meat”, cashew queso, QPC, greens, and crushed tortillas.
Brown rice, pumfu, steamed garlicky broc, and sesame dressing.
As mentioned before, Q would eat that sesame dressing every day, and it can be a great way to convince not-usually-eating-veg folks to gobble them down.
Here seen, almost exactly like above, but with fresh greens and toasted/seasoned pepitas
Squash bisque (red curry, water, a little coconut milk, roasted squash, bay leaf), green beans, and toasted/seasoned pepitas.
His birthday dinner request: arepa pizzas.
We used VivoLife plant-based cheese, and the “filling” is seared mushroom and garlic sauce (it’s almost more like a tapenade you spread over the crust) and broccoli. Dip it on homemade marinara and you’ll be doing little food dance. :-) We keep these as rare treats, though because that cheese (is delicious) but not at all a “whole-food”.
A daily Q whole-food plant-based request: these whole-grain rolls are made with whole-oat flour, tapioca, and bursting with flax meal. They are delicious as heck and great for your gut.
And they become his favorite breakfast: peanut butter and berry sauce (<—we simmer, reduce, puree blueberries, strawberries, mango, and a pinch of cinnamon.)
Or serve ‘em with apples and peanut butter cream.
Add to a mixer 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 cup oatmilk, 2-3 dates, and a little vanilla; and Boy Howdy do you have a delicious sauce/cream.
Packing up meals for a friend.
As mentioned above, Q has been lighting up the minds and hearts of all sorts of loved ones, and feeding this dear lady each week has been a heart-lift for both of us.
And below, to additional not-tied-to-food-school-or-news heartlifts from the week.
Tolerance & LOVE
(Thank goodness for Wicket’s tolerance of Q’s big-hearted abdominal-snowman-deep love for her._
On the eve of his birthday, he fell asleep in Ian’s arms (something he hasn’t done in months) and it was a heart-gift to have him still and snuggled in like his old cub self.
What’s the most impactful thing you can do as an individual to help your kin, community, millions of species, and planet? Transition as plant-based as possible.🌎♥️
Why? Plant-Based foods are environmentally imperative 🌎. They also promote ideal health💪 (which takes stress off our overburdened health care system), are inexpensive🙌, delicious🤤, & compassionate. 💕
Why imperative, though? 🤔We’re approaching (& have crossed) climate tipping points that will doom our kin & millions of other species. 😱📣Reducing/eliminating animal products is the *most impactful thing an individual can do* to prevent worse. 🌎🔥
Why? Animal Agriculture creates more emissions than the entire transportation sector combined, it’s tied to water waste/loss/pollution (<-- freshwater is our most precious resource💧), land loss/deforestation (<-- exacerbates climate change by reducing our ability to sequester carbon🔥🌎), ocean acidification (<-- FYI 50-85% of earth’s oxygen originates from oceanic plankton🌊) & vast species loss/extinction/suffering💔📣🌎
Plus, consuming animal products is tied to increased risk of cardiovascular disease❤️🩹, diabetes👎, cancer👎, and chronic disease👎; whereas Plant-Based feasting is linked to preventing/reversing some of our most common diseases (<— like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer); plus it promotes ideal health & robust strength (ie Olympians, Weightlifters, Endurance Athletes are thriving via PBWFs too). 🎉🙌♥️
What organizations are promoting plant-based diets for best health and environmental stability? National Institutes of Health, Mayo Clinic, Yale, the United Nations, Harvard School of Health, American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics, National Kidney Foundation, even the Parkinson’s Foundation.
We’re all overwhelmed in one way or another, but for the sake of our kin (and the millions of species we share this planet with) we need to start pivoting forward. As someone who once rarely ate green things & used to eat animal products at every meal, I can assure you that is possible, affordable, enjoyable, & purposeful to pivot Plant-Based. In fact, our whole family is now healthier/stronger than ever. 🙌♥️
Anecdotally, our son had failure-to-thrive, was also plagued with perpetual ear-infections/sinus-infections, and had an omnipresent runny nose. What was he eating? Grass-fed milk, organic/antibiotic-free/grass-fed/local meats, eggs from organic-fed/well-loved chickens from a neighbor, every meal came with vegetables, and we limited junkfood. He was healed via a plant-based diet: he’s launched out of that diagnosis and the last time he had a sinus-infection (or was sick at all) was in 2019 when he had some cheese at a school Christmas party. Before shifting to PBWF’s he was sick every month, and how he’s a robust, vital, thriving kiddo. 🙌🎉♥️
If you think any of the above sounds over-reached/absurd/impossible, please go read the links above. I understand the inclination to hackle-raise (<—because I was once totally there) but the science is clear: any step we make forward is imperative (<—and again “STEPS” is the focus. Don’t leap, just start making steps!). It’s as simple as starting with one meal a week and growing from there.💕
We have the ability (deliciously, healthfully, kindly, inexpensively) to *preserve/protect* the planet we share with millions of species & our kin. How are we going to use that power today?✌️🤟🖖
