Men’s Health Month: Dietitian Answers Men’s Plant-Based Diet Questions Jeff Surak Fri, 05/24/2024 - 11:24 Featured Image Mens-Health-Month-blog.jpg Summary How do I get enough protein? How do I stay plant-based while traveling? Why can’t I just eat what I want and take drugs for high cholesterol? This Men’s Health Month, Physicians Committee Dietitian Noah Praamsma, MS, RDN, has teamed up with Food for Life instructors to answer these and other common questions they get from men about plant-based diets. Interested in learning more about a plant-based diet for men’s health? Food for Lif ..read more

Physicians Committee Offers $4K to Bring Plant-Based School Lunches to N.C. School District Jeff Surak Wed, 05/15/2024 - 10:24 Featured Image Taste the Rainbow Burke FFL Instructor Roxie Becker.jpg Summary Experts from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine joined a North Carolina pediatrician in speaking at Burke County Public Schools board meeting on Monday, May 13, 2024, to urge officials there to accept a $4,000 grant to pilot two plant-based entrees in three of the district’s schools in the 2024-2025 school year. Physicians Committee Nutrition Education Coordinator Noah ..read more

Helping Food for Life Instructors Reach Underserved Communities Jeff Surak Wed, 05/15/2024 - 10:16 Featured Image FFL-Scholarship.jpg Summary In 2019, after her annual mammogram, Dionne Shaw Bush was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer and decided to take charge of her well-being with a plant-based diet. “I dove headfirst into the world of whole food, plant-based eating and witnessed its incredible power in transforming my life,” says Dionne, who became a Physicians Committee Food for Life instructor in 2023, teaching classes in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. “Five years lat ..read more

Ethics—Both Human and Animal—Demand We Move Away From Animal Use in Biomedical Research Urgently and Focus Entirely on Human Biology Instead Jeff Surak Mon, 05/13/2024 - 08:56 Featured Image mouse-in-glove.jpg Summary New paper by Jarrod Bailey, PhD, Director of Medical Research at the Physicians Committee, and co-author Professor Michael Balls, summarizes the case for a paradigm shift in medical research that will help animals and humans. In their invited review in Anesthesiology Clinics, the authors discuss ethical issues and considerations concerning the use of animals in science, an ..read more

Dr. Vanita Rahman Visits Indian Medical Schools With Urgent Call for Plant-Based Prevention Jeff Surak Wed, 05/08/2024 - 09:40 Featured Image 24358-COM Vanita Blog Photos-1.jpg Summary India is facing growing epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease as traditional plant-based diets are being eroded by a meat-heavy Western diet and influx of processed foods. To help turn around these trends, Vanita Rahman, MD, DipABLM, clinic director for the Barnard Medical Center, recently toured India and Bangladesh, where she lectured to students and faculty at medical schools about the impo ..read more

Dallas Family’s Plant-Based ‘Power Foods’ Transformation Jeff Surak Mon, 04/29/2024 - 09:56 Featured Image Sean-Makhani-Blog.jpg Summary Sean Makhani recently shared his plant-based “power foods” health transformation with Neal Barnard, MD, who was in Dallas to discuss his new book, The Power Foods Diet. In 2017, Sean weighed about 240 pounds, which was obese for him, and had borderline diabetes. His doctor told him he could give him medicine or that he could start working out, but his doctor didn’t say anything about diet. “For 42 years, I was eating meat-heavy Pakistani meals, as ..read more

Celebrating Passover With Plant-Based Meals Jeff Surak Wed, 04/17/2024 - 08:57 Featured Image Suzanne-Fellows-blog.jpg Summary Passover is a time for reflection and gratitude and for gathering with family and friends to share a seder dinner at the beginning of the holiday. Simple recipe substitutes and additions, like swapping chia seeds for eggs or adding vegetables to traditional recipes, can accommodate a plant-based diet while observing Passover. In addition to the Zucchini and Artichoke Kugel recipe below, grilled portobellos, cauliflower steaks, jackfruit brisket, and a roasted ve ..read more

Food for Life Classes Reach Record 17,263 Participants Worldwide in 2023 Jeff Surak Mon, 03/25/2024 - 15:32 Featured Image Food-for-Life-Impact-Report-Cover.jpg Summary The We Are Food for Life: 2023 Community Impact Report highlights the exponential growth of the Physicians Committee’s Food for Life plant-based nutrition and cooking class program. Last year, 403 instructors in 23 countries taught 1,686 classes about the lifesaving power of a plant-based diet to 17,263 participants, which was a 36% increase in participants from 2022. The program also had a 26% increase in reach to peop ..read more

Faith, Food, and Health Plant-Based Cooking Classes Launch This Spring Jeff Surak Tue, 03/12/2024 - 13:27 Featured Image FFL Faith, Food, and Health Campaign Collateral-Facebook (1).jpg Summary The Food for Life: Faith, Food, and Health plant-based nutrition and cooking classes, designed to promote wellness in faith communities, are celebrating the interfaith holiday season. New series and classes will be added throughout the spring to provide faith communities with nutrition education and practical cooking tips and recipes to help prevent or overcome heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cer ..read more

Celebrating Black History Month With Plant-Based Recipes From Food for Life Instructors Jeff Surak Fri, 02/23/2024 - 16:53 Featured Image Black History Month 2024.jpg Summary During our celebration of Black History Month, we’ve been sharing our recipes created by Physicians Committee Food for Life instructors! Learn more about the instructors and find their recipes below! Vegan Cornbread Best Dressing by Charles Smith This recipe is inspired by Charles’ mother’s recipe. Charles says that his mom cooked many rich, delicious foods, and cornbread dressing was always at the top of that list ..read more