Christie Brinkley
What we eat influences our health, the health of our planet, the health of our nation and the suffering of animals. One of the worst misconceptions about diet is that we need a lot of animal protein to be healthy. The opposite is true. While we must have protein in our diet, plant-based diets are the best protein sources for all four topics mentioned above.
There are shining examples of individuals who benefit from plant-based diets.
At 68 Christie Brinkley is a beacon to the world on what is possible as we age. According to Sports Illustrated, “Christie appeared in SI Swimsuit eight times between 1975-2004, earning three consecutive covers in 1979, 1980 and 1981. In 2017, at the age of 63, she returned to the magazine looking as beautiful as ever.”
Her success is not dumb luck. She works at it. She works out regularly on a home gym machine. She loves to take spin classes (indoor stationary bikes) and work with weights.
A “Flexible Vegan” on a “Rainbow Diet”
She’s been on vegan and other diets, but has always been a strict vegetarian since she was 12. She is living proof that we don’t have to exploit and eat sensitive animals to be very healthy. She has her own “Rainbow Diet” that has much fruit, nuts and seeds as well as vegetables. She isn’t full vegan because she eats some egg white casseroles and some dairy products. She calls herself a “flexible vegan”. Her strategy with her “Rainbow Diet” is to get as wide a variety of nutrients as possible every day. The colors of fruits and vegetables advertise their nutrients. It works. Look at her!
Everyone would benefit with a vegan diet or their own near vegan diets. We would help the health of our nation by lightening the burden on our health care with less diabetes, heart disease, weight problems and more.
Our planet would benefit too as deforestation is spreading in countries like Brazil to graze livestock and grow the plant food to feed the livestock. This is a main cause of climate change that is accelerating and destroying our planet. Animal eating is unsustainable with a growing human population. It’s far more efficient to grow plants and feed humans directly.
There is a moral dimension too, as animals as intelligent and sensitive as dogs and cats are raised in obscene conditions and mercilessly killed as if they were only feelingless things.