The Stanford Inn by the Sea - Resort and Spa

Introduction: The Mendocino Lifestyle is predominately "green." We define it as an effort to bring thoughtfulness, mindfulness, to the small decisions we make every day. This blog concerns chronic diseases. It is also the story of the former owner of this lodge. We are vegan and adopting a vegan lifestyle is the single most important change one can make toward sustainability. This blog is provides another reason for adopting a vegan lifestyle. In addition, many of our guests have wanted copies of the orginal article written in our newsletter. It is here for them.

Diet and Disease
A close friend died as a result of contracting histoplasmosis a disease endemic to the eastern and central U.S. There, as many as 80% of the people test positive for exposure.

Suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, our friend was treated with infusions of two drugs that suppress the immune system. One of the drugs, Remicade, is known to lower resistance to fungal infections. Reviews of the drug include a warning that where histoplasmosis is common, patients and their doctors must consider the benefits and risks before using it. Coastal California is not known for this disease;however, she went to Mexico where the disease is common.

We wondered if a safer product might have been available to prevent such a catastrophic outcome. We read about aspirin, Vitamin D, and more. But most stunning was the role of diet. First, we learned that most autoimmune diseases can be attributed to diet or at best are exacerbated by diet. Second, the most common culprits are proteins found in foods and their interactions with the human immune system. Clues to the role of diet in a variety of diseases include:

1. Lupus is rare in rural Africa, yet African-Americans have the highest incidence of lupus.

2. Albania, Europe’s poorest country with a poor diet by Western standards, has the longest life expectancy in eastern and central Europe.

3. Further, Albanians living in the southwest who subsist primarily on a diet of fruits and vegetables are half as likely to die from heart attack as their countrymen who live in the northeast and subsist on a dairy based diet.

4. People in Asia and Africa subsisting on traditional diets have a very low incidence of the various forms of arthritis afflicting those on a western diet.

5. Multiple Sclerosis is rare in Asia and Africa; however Asians and Africans who have adopted a western diet are as susceptible as are European

6. Atherosclerosis is rare in populations eating traditional diets in Asia and Africa and, again, Asians and Africans on a western diet are as afflicted as Europeans. Other diseases may very well be the result of atherosclerosis.

7. Finally, long ago Jeff was struck by the diets of various indigenous people he studied as an anthropologist. With the exception of Inuit and some northern peoples, most traditional diets were based on seeds, grains and fruit. For example, the Pomo who once occupied Mendocino County subsisted primarily on acorns supplementing their diet with dried salmon, seaweed (for salt), berries and collected shell fish during their seasonal forays to the coast. For many people, meat was for festivals.

Third, we were impressed by the fact that dietary changes can effectively reduce or eliminate the symptoms of these and other chronic diseases. The implications are enormous. A low fat, whole foods vegan diet will often reverse the effects of Multiple Sclerosis according to Dr. Roy Swank formerly the head of the Division of Neurology of the University of Oregon Medical School. Dr. John McDougal and Dr. Dean Ornish recommend low fat vegan diets for treatment of variety modern afflictions including prostrate problems, heart disease, arthritis, and MS.
The process of how diet contributes to allergies is complex. For those who want to know more we suggest that you check out Dr. John McDougal’s web site – http://www.drmcdougall.com. McDougall provides a thorough documented description of the inflammatory process as well as well documented dietary guidelines.

At the Ravens we are challenging ourselves to develop recipes which enhance the immune system at the same time they satisfy our western tastes.

All material -Copyright - Stanford Inn

We are traveling – first to a wedding in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and exploring vegan restaurants.

Halifax is a wonderful city: youthful, yet graced with stone or brick century old buildings. More than vegan friendly, the city offers several vegan restaurants. Not entirely vegan, but “friendly” Mezza on Quinpool Road is Lebanese/Mediterranean. Our daughter and son were to arrive later in the evening and we decided to try their appetizers. We had a three including Foul Mudammas – a tangy dish of fava beans tossed with garlic, mint and fresh lemon with tomatoes and onions; Vegetable Kebbe - samosa-like with a fried dumpling made with potato and cracked wheat and stuffed with spinach, chickpeas, onion and lemon; and, Eggplant created with roasted eggplant, green pepper, red pepper, onion, garlic, tomato, parsley, lemon and olive oil. Not one of these can be claimed our favorite –each excellent, with wonderful flavors – complementing one another. We chose well. - Joan and Jeff Stanford

It is one our coldest nights this year, it’s late and two raccoons, a mother and her baby, who visit every night, are watching us - or that is our dogs, Gypsy and Murphy who are intently watching them. The stare-off reminds us of our love for animals. We contribute to their wellbeing by not in anyway supporting feed lots, piggeries, over fishing and so on. We eat a whole foods, plant based diet.

It occurs to us this winter solstice that “keeping Christmas” is perhaps easier for us because each day we have to think about what we eat – particularly if we are traveling. Thinking about what we eat reminds us of our commitment to other species; our commitment to supporting sustainable agriculture and it reminds us of our hypocrisy - we wear leather on our feet and leather around our waists. We are not offering you righteousness: Jeff is often angry, blundering into the others’ feelings. But we are offering our experience – that eating kindly benefits us in ways we never imagined. We have more energy than others much younger, we feel energy moving through us, we feel connected to this wonderful earth and we have taken it for granted. We simply have had no need to announce these experiences. Until now.

Now we know that our way of eating has unanticipated benefits from reducing global warming and pollution to averting chronic diseases. With regard to chronic disease, check out http://drmcdougall.com/. John McDougall is a leader in treating a variety of chronic diseases with diet. If you know someone with MS, you might check out Dr. Roy Swank's site at http://www.swankmsdiet.org/ and for specific recommendations regarding heat disease, check out Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's site http://www.heartattackproof.com/. All three doctors share a passion for healing and found that the methods they had learned often failed to treat more than symptoms. They sought to reverse disease and increase vitality. Although the Dr. Swank and Dr. Esselstyn are now retired, Dr. McDougall continues his practice in Santa Rosa, California.

Follow this blog for additional information regarding the reduction of carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide equivalents by adoption of a vegan, whole foods diet.