My Story
Hi, I’m Dr. LaVerda Richards
HERE’S HOW I CAME BACK VEGAN!
My quest for better health began many years ago as a small child. Like many African-Americans, I grew up in a home with parents who suffered from high blood pressure. After they were diagnosed, to their credit, my Mom and Dad began to make better choices with their health.
Gone were the saltshakers. They decreased the amount of beef we ate and began to get more active. I was proud of the efforts my parents were making for better health, but like most kids, my brother and I were not down with the program. “We’ll stick with the meat, Dad” was our motto. My father, a proud Jamaican man, had always been health-conscious before health-consciousness was cool.
“Cow’s milk is for Cows!”
“Cow’s milk is for baby cows,” my Dad would say when we reached for the milk carton. Back in the 70s he became a pescetarian—a vegetarian who eats fish. He railed against the chocolate chip cookies my Mom would buy—something he considered junk food and not real food. He let it be known that we were eating the wrong stuff. His example sparked my interest in healthful eating, though it would take many more years before I would fully embrace healthful eating and living.
By the time I left my parents home for college, I knew what I needed to do to avoid developing the chronic health problems that they were facing. I had decreased my intake of beef, but chicken was still on my menu. That’s when I took a nutrition class that changed my life forever.
One day my professor showed a video of how animals are treated in our nation’s factory food industry. The documentary also featured interviews with meat inspectors, all of whom had become vegetarians after witnessing meat production close up. That was enough for me. I was cured! I determined to stop chicken and beef. If meat inspectors wouldn’t eat it the meat that passed their own inspection, I was not going to eat it either! I became a pescetarian like my Dad.
Invitation to Health
My pescetarian diet hit a roadblock in 2002 when I was invited to speak on the effects of diabetic retinopathy, or diabetes in the eye—along with other general eye-related health concerns. By then I had graduated from optometry school and I had begun to practice in my field. Because of my participation, I was invited to attend a special banquet at the end of the two-week camp.
I was surprised by the comprehensive health support that the camp directors had given their sick participants. They taught them how to exercise, what to eat, how to prepare it, and how to keep their healthy lifestyle going. I was amazed. While tasting a succulent desert, someone leaned over and said, “You know, everything here is plant-based,” to which I responded, “Well, the desert is made with eggs, right?” To my utter surprise, it was not.
How could something that tasted so great be plant-based? I was dumbfounded!
I turned to the friend who accompanied me and asked, “If someone could cook food like this, would you become a vegetarian?” He looked at me and didn’t bat an eye: “If someone could cook food like this for me, oh yeah! I could do this!” In that moment I realized for the first time that making the switch to a vegetarian diet did not mean that I would have to sacrifice taste!
A Vegan Chef Shows the Way
I had to meet the person responsible for the delicious food at that banquet. Her name was Johnetta Frazier, a quiet, sparkplug of a woman whose food was as good as it was healthy. I invited her to do a cooking demonstration at my church. After a pre-event tasting, people packed the dining hall on the day of the event. Ms. Frazier wowed everyone with her terrific delicacies, and I had found the path to healthy, tasty vegan cooking!
Ms. Frazier and I teamed up on several more cooking demonstrations at my church. I would do a health presentation, and she would make great dishes and teach attendees how to make healthy food taste spectacular! During the prep work for my presentations I began to learn several things. For instance, I learned about the damaging effects of cholesterol in the body as a result of consuming animal products. Animal products release chemicals in the body called arachidonic acid, a major precursor to inflammation in the body. A plant-based diet avoids this problem completely.
Pain Beyond Belief
I also found out that, plant oils have no cholesterol. They are poly and mono-unsaturated, liquid at body temperature, and they create a chemical called linoleic acid that helps decrease inflammation throughout the body through prostaglandin 1 and 3. This was important to me because for years I suffered with a condition called dysmenorrhea—painful cramps during menstruation that interferes with one’s daily activities. The pain is so devastating patients often wish they could die and never experience the pain again. That was my life for years!
I would consume 600 to 800mg of Motrin (Ibuprofen) at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would also take several more pills before bed, only to sleep barely half the night. My life was miserable and totally out of control! During my professional training, I could barely go to my clinical rotations, see patients, complete exams, or anything else for that matter.
How I Became the Comeback Vegan
During my research I discovered that most healthy issues we face have some inflammatory component to them. Could this also be true of my condition? I consulted the research and discovered a link. The health literature showed that by eliminating animal products from my diet, I would inhibit the production of the very inflammatory chemicals that were leaving me debilitated. I decided to give it a try.
I eliminated all animal products from my diet. No dairy. No cheese. No milk. No flesh foods. If it had a mother, I didn’t eat it! Two to three months in, I took myself off of the birth control medicine that also seemed to contribute to my symptoms. As I approached my first major menstrual cycle, I wondered how my body would respond.
For the first time in my life, my cycle passed with absolute NO PAIN! No cramps, no discomfort—no pain! I was absolute amazed. I could not believe that one change in diet was having on my life. I made a vow right then to tell everyone I know about this amazing health breakthrough. And that’s why I’m telling you. You Can Comeback Vegan!!!!!
Friend, when I decided to eat a complete vegan, plant-based diet, my life changed forever! I began to make a comeback. My pain went away. My skin cleared up. My mind cleared up. My energy level increased. If I could comeback vegan, you can too!
ISN’T IT TIME FOR YOU TO COMEBACK VEGAN?!
Hi, I’m Dr. LaVerda Richards
HERE’S HOW I CAME BACK VEGAN!
My quest for better health began many years ago as a small child. Like many African-Americans, I grew up in a home with parents who suffered from high blood pressure. After they were diagnosed, to their credit, my Mom and Dad began to make better choices with their health.
Gone were the saltshakers. They decreased the amount of beef we ate and began to get more active. I was proud of the efforts my parents were making for better health, but like most kids, my brother and I were not down with the program. “We’ll stick with the meat, Dad” was our motto. My father, a proud Jamaican man, had always been health-conscious before health-consciousness was cool.
“Cow’s milk is for Cows!”
“Cow’s milk is for baby cows,” my Dad would say when we reached for the milk carton. Back in the 70s he became a pescetarian—a vegetarian who eats fish. He railed against the chocolate chip cookies my Mom would buy—something he considered junk food and not real food. He let it be known that we were eating the wrong stuff. His example sparked my interest in healthful eating, though it would take many more years before I would fully embrace healthful eating and living.
By the time I left my parents home for college, I knew what I needed to do to avoid developing the chronic health problems that they were facing. I had decreased my intake of beef, but chicken was still on my menu. That’s when I took a nutrition class that changed my life forever.
One day my professor showed a video of how animals are treated in our nation’s factory food industry. The documentary also featured interviews with meat inspectors, all of whom had become vegetarians after witnessing meat production close up. That was enough for me. I was cured! I determined to stop chicken and beef. If meat inspectors wouldn’t eat it the meat that passed their own inspection, I was not going to eat it either! I became a pescetarian like my Dad.
Invitation to Health
My pescetarian diet hit a roadblock in 2002 when I was invited to speak on the effects of diabetic retinopathy, or diabetes in the eye—along with other general eye-related health concerns. By then I had graduated from optometry school and I had begun to practice in my field. Because of my participation, I was invited to attend a special banquet at the end of the two-week camp.
I was surprised by the comprehensive health support that the camp directors had given their sick participants. They taught them how to exercise, what to eat, how to prepare it, and how to keep their healthy lifestyle going. I was amazed. While tasting a succulent desert, someone leaned over and said, “You know, everything here is plant-based,” to which I responded, “Well, the desert is made with eggs, right?” To my utter surprise, it was not.
How could something that tasted so great be plant-based? I was dumbfounded!
I turned to the friend who accompanied me and asked, “If someone could cook food like this, would you become a vegetarian?” He looked at me and didn’t bat an eye: “If someone could cook food like this for me, oh yeah! I could do this!” In that moment I realized for the first time that making the switch to a vegetarian diet did not mean that I would have to sacrifice taste!
A Vegan Chef Shows the Way
I had to meet the person responsible for the delicious food at that banquet. Her name was Johnetta Frazier, a quiet, sparkplug of a woman whose food was as good as it was healthy. I invited her to do a cooking demonstration at my church. After a pre-event tasting, people packed the dining hall on the day of the event. Ms. Frazier wowed everyone with her terrific delicacies, and I had found the path to healthy, tasty vegan cooking!
Ms. Frazier and I teamed up on several more cooking demonstrations at my church. I would do a health presentation, and she would make great dishes and teach attendees how to make healthy food taste spectacular! During the prep work for my presentations I began to learn several things. For instance, I learned about the damaging effects of cholesterol in the body as a result of consuming animal products. Animal products release chemicals in the body called arachidonic acid, a major precursor to inflammation in the body. A plant-based diet avoids this problem completely.
Pain Beyond Belief
I also found out that, plant oils have no cholesterol. They are poly and mono-unsaturated, liquid at body temperature, and they create a chemical called linoleic acid that helps decrease inflammation throughout the body through prostaglandin 1 and 3. This was important to me because for years I suffered with a condition called dysmenorrhea—painful cramps during menstruation that interferes with one’s daily activities. The pain is so devastating patients often wish they could die and never experience the pain again. That was my life for years!
I would consume 600 to 800mg of Motrin (Ibuprofen) at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would also take several more pills before bed, only to sleep barely half the night. My life was miserable and totally out of control! During my professional training, I could barely go to my clinical rotations, see patients, complete exams, or anything else for that matter.
How I Became the Comeback Vegan
During my research I discovered that most healthy issues we face have some inflammatory component to them. Could this also be true of my condition? I consulted the research and discovered a link. The health literature showed that by eliminating animal products from my diet, I would inhibit the production of the very inflammatory chemicals that were leaving me debilitated. I decided to give it a try.
I eliminated all animal products from my diet. No dairy. No cheese. No milk. No flesh foods. If it had a mother, I didn’t eat it! Two to three months in, I took myself off of the birth control medicine that also seemed to contribute to my symptoms. As I approached my first major menstrual cycle, I wondered how my body would respond.
For the first time in my life, my cycle passed with absolute NO PAIN! No cramps, no discomfort—no pain! I was absolute amazed. I could not believe that one change in diet was having on my life. I made a vow right then to tell everyone I know about this amazing health breakthrough. And that’s why I’m telling you. You Can Comeback Vegan!!!!!
Friend, when I decided to eat a complete vegan, plant-based diet, my life changed forever! I began to make a comeback. My pain went away. My skin cleared up. My mind cleared up. My energy level increased. If I could comeback vegan, you can too!
ISN’T IT TIME FOR YOU TO COMEBACK VEGAN?!