I know I asked you (a few weeks ago, maybe?) what your path to veganism was, and when you didn't reply, I chalked it up to my asking a too-personal question. Now I realize -- you were writing THIS piece of utter gorgeousness. Wow. So vulnerable and honest, and SO well-written. You really took me on your journey with you.
A brief share: I've always been conscious of food's healing properties ever since my mother died of cancer when I was 23. But my understanding of it kicked into higher gear later, when my husband contracted CLL, and later still, when my daughter was bedridden with Lyme. It was her situation that really brought it all together; after 2 years of the typical medical run-around, she went on a 6-month healing diet, eating only fruits and vegetables, and NOTHING else. Within a month, she was up and around, after 6, she was able to return to more normal activities. She's now a vegan Division 1 volleyball player, stronger and faster than anyone else on the team.
I totally relate to wanting to shake people (did you actually say that? Probably not; that's me) who don't seem to understand the relationship between what they put in their mouths and their quality of life. You're right, words alone won't reach them; but I believe a story like yours could. Thank you for telling it.
Lovely post Jack. I appreciate you sharing, as a fellow OMSer I understand completely and look forward to your recipes & podcasts. Unfortunately my mobility was affected before I started the plant based eating so probably not get better, but hopefully it will help slow progession. I'm very strict on diet, take my DMT, vit D, made drastic changes to destress, just got to start exercising. Maybe this year! All the best for 2023
Incredible. I reversed an unknown metabolic disorder with a plant-based diet, and I know from the literature that it reverses heart disease--but I had no idea it treated MS as well. Thanks for telling your story!
I changed from meat eater to 100% whole food plant-based diet this time last year and haven’t regretted it. I wish I had known about the health benefits earlier in my life. Though it’s never too late to make a difference. My doctor was strongly advising medication for high cholesterol and I asked for time to try and make a difference by changing my diet. Well it worked. But wouldn’t it have been nice if the doctor had encouraged me and informed me about eating vegan? I did it on my own. I just wonder how much fitter better I might have been had I done this thirty or forty years ago. I’m loving your Substack, thanks for sharing.
Jack, I also changed my lifestyle to vegan for health reasons. After having a doctor advise me to go on a "keto" diet and becoming quite ill, I changed doctors and researched nutrition. Doctors, for the most part are not nutritionist and don't view food as medicine. In doing this research, I ran across nutritioinfacts.org and it changed my life forever. Looking back I would have gone more slowly due to the shock to my gut biome, we went cold turkey. My body adjusted after a few months. I lost weight, my skin cleared and I felt and feel great. I realized after I started cooking plant-based that meals became way more interesting. I used to consider some broccoli and a piece of chicken to be a mainstay. Now, with the help of an instantpot, I make ratatouille, dozens of soups, stuffed bell peppers and we even make bbq with shredded jackfruit. My diet has never been more interesting. Thank you so much for posting here. I love to read and hear from other vegans who are vegan for their health. If I had changed my lifestyle much earlier I would not have had the health issues I had when I was younger. Last night we were at a birthday party that was potluck. 80% of the food was animal based. We brought some fruit. These were all older people who were walking around with stents in their hearts already or stroke survivors. Yet, this is what they brought to share. One guy asked why were weren't eating any of it and when I told him that we were vegan he responded that he could never do that. ( He was also one of the ones with stents in his heart). So I also choose not to share that I am vegan with many people because they choose not to understand or explore the idea of change.
I've been vegan for love of other animals for 9 years with the added benefit that my mental, emotional and physical health transformed, I'm 59 now and full of beans. I found the longer I've been vegan the crazier it seems not to be.
Thanks for sharing your story, Jack. It’s so true that talk is cheap when it comes to lifestyle changes. If more information alone did the trick, we would all be healthier. But I think once people see (or taste) that they won’t lose the pleasure of eating when they shift to a healthier lifestyle, they are more inclined to at least give it a shot.
There are a bunch of other factors, of course. People need to develop or improve their cooking skills, understand how to balance macronutrients, and know which supplements are important. But getting over that initial hurdle of seeing a plant-based diet as restrictive starts with a bite of a vegan version of a favorite dish. 
My own journey started with a flexitarian diet in high school and shifted toward vegetarian as I lost my taste for meat. When I discovered that severe lactose intolerance was behind a lot of my digestive problems, I gave up dairy and went fully plant-based. It’s been a journey ever since, and I’ve spent the last 13 years going from someone who largely subsistent on quesadillas and didn’t know how to cook tofu to almost completely whole food plant-based and making the majority of my own food.
I really like exploring recipes and discovering new fruits and vegetables. Food and cooking have always been central in my life; being plant-based has simply added another layer of exploration. 
What an inspiring piece, and so beautifully written! I'm 76 now and never really have been sick, except for an occasional flu. I count myself lucky; I've inherited a strong constitution. But being vegan for over 20 years has helped too, I'm sure. I wish you continuing good health, and look forward to more of your recipes, always so carefully researched and delicious.
Thank you for sharing your story. It really helps me understand the depth of caring you have for what you’re doing. It inspires me too! When I went gluten-free 15 years ago, it was because of a health issue. I found that one easy, because the health consequence was just way worse than not eating gluten. Switching to being (mostly) vegan 4 years ago was for health reason for me too, but not as obvious or serious (but I could see it coming). I also really love knowing that you were able to heal. I have made a number of changes in my life style and in my choices related to my health. Unfortunately, or fortunately, pain has been quite a motivator.  and I’m grateful for whatever it is that has allowed me to make those changes, even when it is hard. I know some people just can’t and I don’t know why I have so far been one of the lucky ones.  I’m really working on the anxiety, stress, meditative side of things right now.
Just renewed my subscription and came across this post. So glad I did! Originally heard about you from OMS, I’ve been following the protocol since just after my diagnosis in 2013. Reading about your journey was just what I needed today. (Bad fatigue today, going through a bit of an exacerbation lately.) Am going now to bake some sweet potatoes for dinner along with a salad. Thank you Jack for the inspiration and reminder!
I always say that if I invited people for dinner and said I was cooking vegan, then the excuses would come.
If I never said, then put on the table a selection of dishes for guests to share, maybe with one meat or fish dish, then nobody would even notice that everything else was plant based.
I often put multiple dishes out at lunch, say eighty per cent being vegan, without really thinking about it. I’m sure no one really knows as they just enjoy.
People are so quick to label and make decisions based on that. Sad really.
Thank you for this graceful post. I am so glad you are able to manage MS in this way.
I too am vegan (as are our dogs, under the supervision of a vegan vet), and I am SO tired of the questions. If it's genuine interest, fine; but often it's questions designed to trip one up: 'Do you think lions are evil, then, for killing other animals?' I have answers to this and other qs (I've just finished writing a vegan cookbook – unpublished – that also addresses all such issues).
Truely a great story, I know how you feel everytime someone asks this type of weird questions. I thought today people become more mindfullness than a few years before, but anyway still ask about pretty common diet these days. You know, I also have a special diet which is mostly based on my personal preferenceses and which would be better for my stomach after a eat the exact type of food. So it's more of an intuitive diet that most people still couldn't accept. Besides, it's not about a "trend" as many people do, but about health problems that were obviously caused by the previous junk food I consumed almost every day in my school days. After more than 10 years of choosing what's better, trying to find the most valuable way of combining products, I can surely say that it was one of the best decisions in my life, which I'm very proud of. Also, the thing is, I'd say I've become half vegan or just forced to stop eating so many ingredients that are forbidden for vegans. Also, from day to day or even week to week I could only eat like a vegan because sometimes I get tired of eating meat and have an extreme desire to eat only plant-based products. But you know, I still can't imagine my life without red meat, and not any kind, and what's more important, give up eating seafood, which is now the most nutritious for me.
I'm telling you all this because, as you might expect, not every person I've met would have the same beliefs or even try to understand me, but not think of me as a typical weirdo.
By the way, I like your narrative style, how the text flows on itself. Thanks for taking the time to share your personal feelings.
I was vegan until a recent visit to near-deaths-ville left me with incredibly high blood sugar, chronic fatigue and a need to reduce my carbohydrates suddenly. I dislike intently (to put it mildly) once again eating other sentient being after 20 plus years of being vegetarian and then plant based. But unfortunately the change has worked and my blood-sugar levels are stable again. I know this is temporary as I slowly figure out how to live with chronic fatigue I will figure out how to maintain a vegan low carbohydrate diet once again. Until then I whisper mantras for those who are sustaining my life by the giving up of there’s, and pray I can find my way back towards doing less harm in this world 🙏🏻
I'm glad I looked back into your archive to find this piece, Jack. My father has MS. He has a dreadful diet and I didn't know that diet is known to have such an impact on the effects of the illness. I will be sharing your work and ideas with my family. Who knows how much it could help.
I know I asked you (a few weeks ago, maybe?) what your path to veganism was, and when you didn't reply, I chalked it up to my asking a too-personal question. Now I realize -- you were writing THIS piece of utter gorgeousness. Wow. So vulnerable and honest, and SO well-written. You really took me on your journey with you.
A brief share: I've always been conscious of food's healing properties ever since my mother died of cancer when I was 23. But my understanding of it kicked into higher gear later, when my husband contracted CLL, and later still, when my daughter was bedridden with Lyme. It was her situation that really brought it all together; after 2 years of the typical medical run-around, she went on a 6-month healing diet, eating only fruits and vegetables, and NOTHING else. Within a month, she was up and around, after 6, she was able to return to more normal activities. She's now a vegan Division 1 volleyball player, stronger and faster than anyone else on the team.
I totally relate to wanting to shake people (did you actually say that? Probably not; that's me) who don't seem to understand the relationship between what they put in their mouths and their quality of life. You're right, words alone won't reach them; but I believe a story like yours could. Thank you for telling it.
Lovely post Jack. I appreciate you sharing, as a fellow OMSer I understand completely and look forward to your recipes & podcasts. Unfortunately my mobility was affected before I started the plant based eating so probably not get better, but hopefully it will help slow progession. I'm very strict on diet, take my DMT, vit D, made drastic changes to destress, just got to start exercising. Maybe this year! All the best for 2023
Incredible. I reversed an unknown metabolic disorder with a plant-based diet, and I know from the literature that it reverses heart disease--but I had no idea it treated MS as well. Thanks for telling your story!
I changed from meat eater to 100% whole food plant-based diet this time last year and haven’t regretted it. I wish I had known about the health benefits earlier in my life. Though it’s never too late to make a difference. My doctor was strongly advising medication for high cholesterol and I asked for time to try and make a difference by changing my diet. Well it worked. But wouldn’t it have been nice if the doctor had encouraged me and informed me about eating vegan? I did it on my own. I just wonder how much fitter better I might have been had I done this thirty or forty years ago. I’m loving your Substack, thanks for sharing.
Wonderful post. Thank you so much for sharing. Inspirational.
Jack, I also changed my lifestyle to vegan for health reasons. After having a doctor advise me to go on a "keto" diet and becoming quite ill, I changed doctors and researched nutrition. Doctors, for the most part are not nutritionist and don't view food as medicine. In doing this research, I ran across nutritioinfacts.org and it changed my life forever. Looking back I would have gone more slowly due to the shock to my gut biome, we went cold turkey. My body adjusted after a few months. I lost weight, my skin cleared and I felt and feel great. I realized after I started cooking plant-based that meals became way more interesting. I used to consider some broccoli and a piece of chicken to be a mainstay. Now, with the help of an instantpot, I make ratatouille, dozens of soups, stuffed bell peppers and we even make bbq with shredded jackfruit. My diet has never been more interesting. Thank you so much for posting here. I love to read and hear from other vegans who are vegan for their health. If I had changed my lifestyle much earlier I would not have had the health issues I had when I was younger. Last night we were at a birthday party that was potluck. 80% of the food was animal based. We brought some fruit. These were all older people who were walking around with stents in their hearts already or stroke survivors. Yet, this is what they brought to share. One guy asked why were weren't eating any of it and when I told him that we were vegan he responded that he could never do that. ( He was also one of the ones with stents in his heart). So I also choose not to share that I am vegan with many people because they choose not to understand or explore the idea of change.
hello, just found your stack! Amazing.
I've been vegan for love of other animals for 9 years with the added benefit that my mental, emotional and physical health transformed, I'm 59 now and full of beans. I found the longer I've been vegan the crazier it seems not to be.
Jo
🐒
Thanks for sharing your story, Jack. It’s so true that talk is cheap when it comes to lifestyle changes. If more information alone did the trick, we would all be healthier. But I think once people see (or taste) that they won’t lose the pleasure of eating when they shift to a healthier lifestyle, they are more inclined to at least give it a shot.
There are a bunch of other factors, of course. People need to develop or improve their cooking skills, understand how to balance macronutrients, and know which supplements are important. But getting over that initial hurdle of seeing a plant-based diet as restrictive starts with a bite of a vegan version of a favorite dish. 
My own journey started with a flexitarian diet in high school and shifted toward vegetarian as I lost my taste for meat. When I discovered that severe lactose intolerance was behind a lot of my digestive problems, I gave up dairy and went fully plant-based. It’s been a journey ever since, and I’ve spent the last 13 years going from someone who largely subsistent on quesadillas and didn’t know how to cook tofu to almost completely whole food plant-based and making the majority of my own food.
I really like exploring recipes and discovering new fruits and vegetables. Food and cooking have always been central in my life; being plant-based has simply added another layer of exploration. 
What an inspiring piece, and so beautifully written! I'm 76 now and never really have been sick, except for an occasional flu. I count myself lucky; I've inherited a strong constitution. But being vegan for over 20 years has helped too, I'm sure. I wish you continuing good health, and look forward to more of your recipes, always so carefully researched and delicious.
Thank you for sharing your story. It really helps me understand the depth of caring you have for what you’re doing. It inspires me too! When I went gluten-free 15 years ago, it was because of a health issue. I found that one easy, because the health consequence was just way worse than not eating gluten. Switching to being (mostly) vegan 4 years ago was for health reason for me too, but not as obvious or serious (but I could see it coming). I also really love knowing that you were able to heal. I have made a number of changes in my life style and in my choices related to my health. Unfortunately, or fortunately, pain has been quite a motivator.  and I’m grateful for whatever it is that has allowed me to make those changes, even when it is hard. I know some people just can’t and I don’t know why I have so far been one of the lucky ones.  I’m really working on the anxiety, stress, meditative side of things right now.
Just renewed my subscription and came across this post. So glad I did! Originally heard about you from OMS, I’ve been following the protocol since just after my diagnosis in 2013. Reading about your journey was just what I needed today. (Bad fatigue today, going through a bit of an exacerbation lately.) Am going now to bake some sweet potatoes for dinner along with a salad. Thank you Jack for the inspiration and reminder!
I always say that if I invited people for dinner and said I was cooking vegan, then the excuses would come.
If I never said, then put on the table a selection of dishes for guests to share, maybe with one meat or fish dish, then nobody would even notice that everything else was plant based.
I often put multiple dishes out at lunch, say eighty per cent being vegan, without really thinking about it. I’m sure no one really knows as they just enjoy.
People are so quick to label and make decisions based on that. Sad really.
Thank you for this graceful post. I am so glad you are able to manage MS in this way.
I too am vegan (as are our dogs, under the supervision of a vegan vet), and I am SO tired of the questions. If it's genuine interest, fine; but often it's questions designed to trip one up: 'Do you think lions are evil, then, for killing other animals?' I have answers to this and other qs (I've just finished writing a vegan cookbook – unpublished – that also addresses all such issues).
Reposting your post :-)
Truely a great story, I know how you feel everytime someone asks this type of weird questions. I thought today people become more mindfullness than a few years before, but anyway still ask about pretty common diet these days. You know, I also have a special diet which is mostly based on my personal preferenceses and which would be better for my stomach after a eat the exact type of food. So it's more of an intuitive diet that most people still couldn't accept. Besides, it's not about a "trend" as many people do, but about health problems that were obviously caused by the previous junk food I consumed almost every day in my school days. After more than 10 years of choosing what's better, trying to find the most valuable way of combining products, I can surely say that it was one of the best decisions in my life, which I'm very proud of. Also, the thing is, I'd say I've become half vegan or just forced to stop eating so many ingredients that are forbidden for vegans. Also, from day to day or even week to week I could only eat like a vegan because sometimes I get tired of eating meat and have an extreme desire to eat only plant-based products. But you know, I still can't imagine my life without red meat, and not any kind, and what's more important, give up eating seafood, which is now the most nutritious for me.
I'm telling you all this because, as you might expect, not every person I've met would have the same beliefs or even try to understand me, but not think of me as a typical weirdo.
By the way, I like your narrative style, how the text flows on itself. Thanks for taking the time to share your personal feelings.
I was vegan until a recent visit to near-deaths-ville left me with incredibly high blood sugar, chronic fatigue and a need to reduce my carbohydrates suddenly. I dislike intently (to put it mildly) once again eating other sentient being after 20 plus years of being vegetarian and then plant based. But unfortunately the change has worked and my blood-sugar levels are stable again. I know this is temporary as I slowly figure out how to live with chronic fatigue I will figure out how to maintain a vegan low carbohydrate diet once again. Until then I whisper mantras for those who are sustaining my life by the giving up of there’s, and pray I can find my way back towards doing less harm in this world 🙏🏻
I'm glad I looked back into your archive to find this piece, Jack. My father has MS. He has a dreadful diet and I didn't know that diet is known to have such an impact on the effects of the illness. I will be sharing your work and ideas with my family. Who knows how much it could help.