Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine students recently took a deep dive into the benefits of plant-based eating, thanks to a collaboration with a local nonprofit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group (LMIG) worked with Chickpea and Bean on this year\u2019s Plant Plunge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Held Tuesday, March 10, the event introduced students to the role nutrition can play in preventing and managing chronic illnesses such as diabetes. This year\u2019s session featured a presentation from Roxanne \u201cRoxy\u201d Becker<\/a>, MBChB, DipIBLM, medical editor and educator at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, followed by Marc and Kim Ramirez, co-founders of Chickpea and Bean<\/a>. <\/p>\n It makes sense for LMIG to lead the way for the initiative because the group promotes awareness of lifestyle and integrative medicine at OUWB while encouraging preventive medicine, healthier eating, and medical student wellness, said Sruthi Shriram, M2, president of the group. This year\u2019s Plant Plunge included faculty, staff, and physicians and featured a wider variety of plant-based meals from local restaurants.<\/p>\n Together, the speakers encouraged students to view food as a form of medicine and a tool that can influence patients\u2019 long-term health.<\/p>\n \u201cDiet is the most underestimated tool that you have in your toolbox as future physicians. Your patients deserve to have this knowledge,\u201d said Becker. \u201cNutrition can be so powerful for preventing disease or even reversing disease, and you can make such a difference in your patients\u2019 lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Becker noted that many of the leading causes of death in the United States, including cancer, diabetes, stroke, and Alzheimer\u2019s disease, are strongly related to diet. Yet she said that nutrition is often neglected in medical education. She encouraged students to view a plant-based diet as a way to address the root cause of disease and prevent chronic illness before it develops.<\/p>\n The event emphasized the role nutrition can play in preventive care and future patient counseling.<\/p>\n \u201cThis event is important \u2026 the opportunity to learn about the role of diet in preventing, treating and even reversing chronic conditions is really exciting for me,\u201d said Julia Barto, M2, vice president of LMIG.<\/p>\n Shriram said the event reflected the collaborative work of LMIG members and partners to introduce future physicians to nutrition as a tool for preventing and managing chronic disease.<\/p>\n Rather than relying on highly processed vegan or vegetarian foods, a healthy plant-based diet centered on whole foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds is the foundation. Kim and Marc Ramirez shared practical, whole-food, plant-based recipes found on their website.<\/p>\n Marc Ramirez shared his own journey with chronic illness and his family\u2019s history with diabetes, describing the toll it took on his loved ones\u2019 health. In 2002, Marc began taking diabetes medication, and in fall 2011, he and his wife, Kim, adopted a plant-based lifestyle and never looked back. He said he has been medication-free for more than 14 years and lost more than 50 pounds.<\/p>\n He shared his frustration that no physician had ever seriously presented him with a change in nutrition as an option before medication, a reality that motivates him to speak with future physicians.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo one discussed the opportunity or possibility of a plant-based lifestyle,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cNever giving me, \u2018hey, maybe eat some lean meats, take the skin off the chicken.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Kim Ramirez focused on the \u201chow\u201d of their plant-based diet, showing students examples of meals, grocery staples and various methods to make plant-based eating less intimidating. Some of the couple\u2019s recipes included oatmeal with fruit and chia seeds, veggie sandwiches, pasta, burrito bowls and other meals they make regularly.<\/p>\n She also shared a practical approach to tracking progress, using a \u201cgood, better, best\u201d system when shopping. If a basic can of beans is the best someone can do, she said, that\u2019s still a meaningful step. Eating plant-based food doesn\u2019t have to be expensive to be good.<\/p>\n The pair also addressed common concerns about a plant-based diet, including cost, accessibility, and nutritional deficiencies. They emphasized that eating a plant-based diet lowered their food costs by around 30% in addition to the money Marc saves by being medication-free.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at our food costs, it\u2019s about 30% less because we\u2019re buying a bunch of beans and grains\u2026 we\u2019re not buying eggs and we\u2019re not buying meat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Shriram said the goal of this year\u2019s Plant Plunge is to encourage students to try a plant-based diet for three weeks, using the guidance from Becker and the Ramirezes to support their journey toward a whole-food, plant-based diet.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope students realize that incorporating more whole-food, plant-based meals into their routine can be simple, enjoyable and beneficial for overall health,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing\u00a0webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n