Hospital Staff in California Go Plant-Based for Patients

Staffers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fresno, CA have recently taken on a 21-day plant-based eating challenge. The medical professionals are tasked with eating at least one plant-based meal per day and some are embracing it full-time. “If I’m trying to teach my patients how to eat, I need to be doing the same thing,” registered nurse Tammy Barigian said, adding “So, if you eat a high-saturated fat diet, you’re going to have heart disease sooner or later, so you need to focus on low-saturated fat and eating as many fruits and vegetables as possible.” The hospital is offering demonstrations, cooking classes, and support programs to help interested parties continue eating a plant-based diet in an effort to encourage them to be healthier at home and pass information down to their patients. “It’s really a choice and it’s a lifestyle,” dietitian Judy Meadows said about eschewing animal products. “It’s not really a diet that you’re going to end.” Washington DC-based vegan Barnard Medical Center—launched by doctor Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine—opened in 2015 to advocate a plant-based diet as a treatment and preventative measure for diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.