Finding Kinship and Inspiration at The Veggie Grill

As a devout vegan, I firmly believe that every cancer warrior can help beat their disease by shunning animal protein (that's all meat and dairy, folks) and embracing veggies, legumes, nuts, fruit, and all the other foods that form the bedrock of a healthy vegan diet. There's no doubt in my mind that the animal protein that I consumed -- and consumed frequently -- prior to my diagnosis contributed to the growth of my disease. Cancer loves meat and dairy -- there's just no getting around it. And because of that fact, I stopped eating it entirely on January 2, 2011, and have been far, far better off ever since. People like Drs. Campbell and Esselstyn, who have spent much of their careers promoting a diet of plant-based whole foods ("whole foods" means non-processed foods (processed foods include refined sugar and white flour)), are my heroes. They have provided the guiding light for my eating habits and helped contribute to my blueprint of killing cancer. The documentary Forks Over Knives, which elegantly summarizes Drs. Campbell and Esselstyn's work and shows how a vegan diet can stop and reverse various diseases (including cancer, in some cases) is a triumph. It's a documentary that every single person should watch -- not just my fellow cancer warriors. And we should all take its lessons very seriously.

Now before you think I've gone into WunderGlo preacher mode, I'll say three things: 

1) I know it's hard to conceive of the fact that what you're eating might be hurting you -- or killing you. But we all need to give a good, hard look at the things we consume every day and make a decision about whether this is how we want to treat our bodies or not, and whether it's worth the risk of getting sick. It took me a while to realize and to be completely at peace with the fact that what I was eating was indeed killing me. GI cancers like mine are regularly linked to a diet with an excess of red meat or processed meat, and I ate enough red meat, hot dogs, salami, and bacon to last a lifetime. I can almost taste the stuff when I think about it, which is good enough for me. 

2) I know it's hard to "go vegan" or even conceive of it, and I'm sure I wouldn't have made the decision to swear off delicious steaks and shrimp cocktail if I hadn't been smacked in the face with Stage IV colon cancer. But keep an open mind. Read Dr. Campbell's book, The China Study, or at the very least, watch Forks Over Knives. This stuff is legit. And to all my cancer warriors, stop messing around and become vegan already. Don't give your disease any opportunity to grow and thrive.

3) There is a story -- a pretty awesome story -- that goes with this introduction, so thank you for coming this far with me.

The story begins a couple of weeks ago, when I met up with a friend who lives in Seattle but has been a big fan of the blog for several months -- probably since the beginning. This friend of mine, Dan, wanted to hang out in person and asked me to talk to his young daughters about my story. Of course, I jumped at the chance, and spent a couple of hours with them. After shaking my hand upon first meeting me, Dan pulled out a card -- on it was the name Kevin Boylan, the co-founder of The Veggie Grill. The Veggie Grill is one of my favorite vegan spots in L.A., with locations all throughout the city which makes it quite convenient to pop in and grab some of their delicious food whenever I have the urge. Dan said that he chatted Kevin up about me and that he wanted to meet me and perhaps collaborate on a fundraiser for The WunderGlo Foundation. 

Wait a second, I thought to myself: Not only do I get to meet the King of The Veggie Grill, but we might become partners, raising money for the Foundation and getting the word out about the benefits of a vegan diet?! Yeah, I was pretty stoked.

I became a lot more stoked a couple of nights ago when I actually sat down for dinner with Kevin and his wife Liz at the Veggie Grill on Sunset. These two are not only heroes -- bringing delicious and nutritious food to my fair city of Los Angeles -- they are both lovely, wonderful people. I could feel their support of my Foundation -- and more so, their support of me -- from the minute I met them. We chatted for a couple hours but the time flew by, and at the end of our dinner, we had some plans. Fundraising plans for the Foundation, larger ideas for the future, and -- now this is where I couldn't contain my excitement -- an upcoming dinner with the Executive Producer of Forks Over Knives, Brian Wendel. 

The titans of the vegan world and your pal WunderGlo are making some solid connections, and I'm expecting great things for all of us.

You know, this whole O'Melveny attorney/WunderGlo Foundation president/cancer warrior things is working out. I'm loving this new life of mine.