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I am positively crazy about plant-based nutrition, and my goal is to share what I’ve learned with every living soul who eats. This is not always a popular path on which to walk, but I know this is right for me and for the planet. One of my happiest moments on this journey was reading an article in a large, well-respected medical journal, asking physicians to recommend a plant-based diet to all patients.

Beth Perera

I ate everything for the first 47 years of my life, and like so many others, until I had a health crisis, I was not motivated to change anything. I consider myself one of the lucky ones, because I had the opportunity to make some changes. I had painful arthritis-like symptoms in my feet to the point where I could not comfortably wear shoes. Living in Vermont at the time, I knew shoes were not optional, at least not in the winter! Arthritis “ran in my family,” with older relatives having knees and hips replaced. I was far too young for these aches and pains, so I started reading. What I discovered changed my life. I did some online reading, and then picked up the book Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. I discovered that arthritis did not run in my family; cheese ran in the family! I eliminated dairy products, and within seven months, my feet were back to normal. I was elated! Then I was angry… angry that this was not common knowledge. I purged my kitchen of all animal products and went on a binge… an educational binge.

My next step was to get my Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition online from eCornell, Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s program (http://www.ecornell.com/certificates/plant-based-nutrition/certificate-in-plant-based-nutrition/). Dr. Campbell is the author of The China Study: The most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted, the second book I read. Then, the film came out that has changed so many lives, Forks Over Knives. This documentary is now being recommended to all physicians, to keep in their offices and loan to staff and patients (2).

From there, I applied and was accepted as a Food For Life Cooking instructor by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, where I taught for over 8 years. The next Certification on my list was the Starch-Based instructor certification, granted to me by Dr. John McDougall’s excellent program (https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/programs/starch-solution-certification-course/).

Next came Dr. Popper’s Food Over Medicine certification and then the Women’s Health certification… absolutely mind-blowing information. Am I done learning? Never. Every day, science marches on and new information comes to light. My goal is to keep this life-changing, life-saving information in the public eye, and not to allow it to be buried. The fact that a plant-based dietary lifestyle can offer you immeasurable benefits, while keeping meals colorful, tasty, simple and interesting is what I will prove to my class attendees. In March of 2021, I decided to do my own thing, so I could offer additional classes. Come along… walk down this path with me. You have nothing to lose but your pills & procedures. Discover the other side, the green side, the Positively Plant-based side of health.


My story appears on the PlantPureNation site: https://vimeo.com/147267228


KAISER PERMANENTE ARTICLES:

(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/

(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4022564/

Though I am no longer with PCRM, my reason for doing this remains.