TEDx Talks
A Plant-based Diet Changed My Life | Pat McAuley | TEDxBabsonCollege
NOTE FROM TED: While some viewers may find the nutrition advice provided in this talk to be helpful, please do not look to this talk for medical advice. We've flagged this talk, which was filmed at a TEDx event, because it appears to fall outside TEDx's content guidelines. This talk contains strong assertions about a specific diet that lack sufficient scientific evidence for general prescription. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf
Pat McAuley describes the impact that food has on his life and why he is an advocate of the health and environmental benefits of plant-based living. Pat McAuley is a Boston-based serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, and startup consultant for ethical/plant-based companies. He has started and successfully run companies in the tech space and food and beverage industries and has extensive experience building brands from scratch. After a plant-based diet changed his life, Pat shifted his focus to building and supporting businesses in the plant-based space. He is now an outspoken advocate of the health and environmental benefits of plant-based living. Pat is the host of the popular Eat Green Make Green Podcast and is currently working on opening one of the nation’s first fully plant-based beer halls, Rewild. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
i picked up my girlfriend at the train station on an average weekday night in december of 2015. the second she got in the car i could tell something was bothering her sure enough a few minutes later she started complaining about a situation at work we got home ate some dinner and sat on the couch to do a little work on our laptops i thought for a second i was off the hook but shortly thereafter the venting resumed now to that point in my life and to that point in my relationship anytime situations like that arose let's just say i didn't handle them gracefully they usually ended with me saying something like don't bring that negative energy figure it out and i proceed to storm out of the room not my best quality i know but that was my way of dealing with it but something was different about that night for some unexplainable reason i had this strange sense of calm and ease within me instead of my blood pressure rising i sat there and actually listened to what she had to say for the first time in my life i felt someone else's pain and feelings as if they were my own i reassured her it was all going to work out and in the end it'd be okay i waited for her to respond but no response came instead she just leaned over and hugged me i'll never forget that hug in the months leading up to that night i was 25 years old waking up with pain in my hand so bad i struggled to tie my shoes my ankles knees and hips would crack like fireworks as i made my way up the stairs to the kitchen i'd fire up my four eggs no toast didn't want the carbs and i'd be out the door to the gym i was an absolute machine yet despite my military-like discipline to this high protein diet and spending hours a day in the gym and i mean hours beneath the surface i was battling arthritis allergies asthma skin issues and a number of other bodily problems i won't scare you with many of which i blamed on years of sports and four years of college football i figured it was just part of getting old i got to a point where i knew spending more time in the gym could not be the answer i couldn't possibly work out more than i already was i knew i had to change something on the diet side of things so despite what everybody had told me coaches doctors alike that a high protein diet was best for both my my health and fitness i decided to try something new i don't quite recall where the idea came from but i remember thinking nobody ever told me fruits and vegetables were a bad thing that's one thing we can all agree on the problem was i didn't really like fruits and vegetables they were always the side to my hunk of meat that i would choke down or not touch at all so i figured the most painless way to get them in was to fill the blender with some greens any fruit and vegetables i had lying around blend it up and drink it down i just started by replacing my four eggs in the morning with this green smoothie that green smoothie gave me a taste of energy and mental clarity and a taste of feel good that i had never before experienced so over the next few weeks i started experimenting if i ate something that made me feel as good as that new high i was getting from that green smoothie i kept it in play if i ate something that didn't make me feel as good i gave it a gronk-like stiff arm and us new englanders know there's no coming back from a gronk stiff arm when i stepped back after those few weeks and looked at the new foods i was eating versus the ones i had eliminated it was very clear to me that on one side was plant foods that i kept in play and on the other side was animal foods i didn't quite know it at the time but i had stumbled into what is commonly referred to today as a plant-based diet over the next six months of following a primarily whole food plant-based diet not only did i continue to experience crazy amounts of energy and mental clarity not only did i effortlessly lose that football weight and get down to the weight i always desired not only did i get stronger in the gym not only did i get faster on my runs but every single health issue i had battled since i was three years old went away the allergies the asthma the arthritis all of it gone i couldn't help but wonder why at no point in my life did any doctor nutritionist parent teacher coach friend anybody give me that information when i went to the doctor whenever i have a problem they tell me what was wrong then they give me the pill the inhaler the epipen the cream we live in a system where say if you're walking around with a splinter in your foot and you're limping around and you're in pain in most cases you go to the doctor they say you have a splinter in your foot here's an orthotic for your shoe here's a cane to help you walk here's a pill to on the pain wouldn't it make more sense to just reach down and pull the splinter out why wasn't i given that option because i would have chosen it years prior i realized my health issues may seem trivial to some of you but i didn't like bringing my inhaler to football practice in front of my buddies i didn't like bringing an epipen to my girlfriend's house it was embarrassing so when all these things went away it was a profound experience for me i felt like i had been lied to my whole life i decided to quit my job and seek answers what i found and what i learned shocked me i learned that over 2 million americans will die from disease-related causes this year i learned that over half of those are from our top two killers heart disease and cancer i learned that heart disease is preventable and reversible that the only diet on the planet that has been proven time and time again to not only stop on its tracks but reverse our number one killer is a plant-based diet dr dean ornish demonstrated this way back in 1990 coincidentally the year i was born i learned that according to the american cancer institute just five to ten percent of all cancers come from purely genetic factors that means that 90 plus percent of the deaths from our top two killers are actually a result of our diet and lifestyle that means that whatever health situation you're in right now it's not a result for nine out of ten of us maybe more it's not a result of a bad genetic draw or that it runs in the family but rather it's a direct result of what we choose to eat and do on a daily basis so to rephrase that top number nearly two million americans will die this year from their very own diet and lifestyle i learned that in 2015 the world health organization declared processed meats a class 1 carcinogen in all red meats a probable carcinogen meaning that we know without a doubt these foods promote the growth of cancer in the human body another widely used class 1 carcinogen is cigarettes i learned that not just processed meats in red meats are the only problem that according to the american association of cancer research all animal protein including fish dairy and eggs raises the level of cancer growth hormone igf-1 in the human body i could go on and on about the benefits of eating more plants and less animals but there are many more experts out there that can do a better job than i can but the evidence is so overwhelming that states like california have been fighting to remove processed meats from public schools and that the country of canada has removed dairy as a food group from their 2018 food pyramid and no longer advises their citizens to consume it a number of doctors that i encourage you all to check out that have spent a lifetime studying this dr dean ornish that i mentioned dr collin t campbell dr caldwell esselstyn dr neil bernard and dr michael greger and i highly encourage you familiarize yourself with their work now back to that night in december of 2015 what was going on there i've sat across from and interviewed nearly a hundred people on my podcast that have transitioned from a predominantly animal based diet or a standard american diet to a plant-based diet and almost all of them speak of some similar experience some newfound sense of calm and ease within them i've come to believe that when you align your daily actions with the human values you already have inside of you this phenomenon occurs what i mean by human values is that deep down all of us are loving and compassionate beings for example if you left this auditorium today and on your way out to the car you saw a pig caught in the fence this little cute pig here and his legs bleeding and he's whining not one of us would go over there and kill and eat that pig instead would feel bad for him we'd go help him out we might even take him to the vet but then we'd get back in our car and without a second thought we'd go home and fire up a blt or a ham sandwich we are now eating that same animal that we just showed love and kindness toward i realize not many people make that connection but i believe at a subconscious level our bodies know furthermore i believe that when you eat an animal a once living breathing feeling creature that you take on its energy there's a scientific theory dating back to the 1940s that has been popularized by the likes of deepak chopra and others called cellular memory and that our memories and experiences exist at a cellular level not just in the brain and are able to live beyond the life of a being so when you eat a cow for example when you eat a burger a steak you are in fact eating a cow that's life looks something like when it was born ripped from her mother she was then fed so much until she got so fat she could barely move she was raped and impregnated her baby her calf was then ripped from her at birth she was milked for all she was worth and the process repeats over and over and over she spends her entire life in an enclosure no bigger than the circle i'm standing on ultimately when she's no longer of value she's hung upside down by her hind legs and slit at the throat we then eat that animal and to think that that fear that anxiety that stress that pain that anger that dis-ease has no impact on our health and how we treat others is simply ludicrous if you told me four years ago i'd be standing up here talking with you about things like love and compassion not only for myself and in my health but for other humans and even animals i would have laughed you out of the damn room yeah here i am and it started with a change i decided to make to my plate and i stand here today a better man in every sense of the word a better friend a better family member bear boyfriend so the next time you sit down to a meal i encourage you all to just take a minute and think about what you're taking from the outside world and putting inside of your body because it is the single greatest decision we make daily and know that what you're about to eat not only impacts your health but it has a profound impact on your ability to love and care for the people in your life thank you [Applause] you
#Plantbased #Diet #Changed #Life #Pat #McAuley #TEDxBabsonCollege
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I want to change my diet to be vegan but I do not know how to cook with just veggies.
A very meaningful speech that we should all listen to. Buddhism also believes this principle that when eating meat you are exposed to all aspects of the animal including fear and anxiety to name just a couple.
TEDx How can you say there is no evidence to support the recommendation of a plant based diet, when there is overwhelming science based evidence everywhere, even supported by international organisations such as the WHO?
Went plant based a year ago and never felt better.
Why are vegetarians so religious?
Our creator God made no mistake when he gave mankind the proper healthy diet, even somen animals are vegetarian. God even said for the animals food, the green herb for meat.
Genesis chpt.1.vrs 29 to mankind and vrs 30 to the animals .
I wonder what blood type he is…
Ah yes, the vegetarian lifestyle—nature's way of saying, 'Hey, maybe don’t eat that cow, try this weird-looking bean instead.' Truly, a noble pursuit of health, ethics, and the inexplicable urge to tell everyone at the party that you don’t eat meat. But let’s get serious here, folks—because a well-balanced vegetarian diet can provide all the necessary nutrients if you avoid the common pitfalls, like subsisting entirely on bread, cheese, and sadness.
Now, before the protein police show up, let’s run through some vegetarian powerhouses: lentils? Absolute units. Chickpeas? Mighty warriors. Tofu? Well, it exists. And let’s not forget the Omega-3 struggle—because while fish are off the table, you can still get those brain-boosting fats from flaxseeds, walnuts, and the sheer willpower required to sit through Thanksgiving dinner with your family.
In conclusion, a vegetarian diet can be healthy, ethical, and even delicious—assuming you don’t fall into the trap of replacing meat with processed junk food. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go read a 14-paragraph essay in the replies from a guy named Greg who insists humans are ‘designed to eat raw elk meat’ because of his ‘ancestral instincts.’
If we only know something because the WHO tells us the. We are in trouble!
And to think now there’s drs on YouTube saying plants are trying to kill youb
amazing story… !!
mmmmm beans
. . . a great testimony . . .
It's almost one year since I went plant based and this includes no oil,salt,sugar.
To say that my life and brain took a complete 360, would be an understatement. Only vegans can relate.💯💯
👏👏👏👏👏👏
Quite the misinforming and misleading presentation.I found his logic to be sad.I'm depressing and not factually bound.
Why don't all of fish and birds of prey and animals Have cancer joint pain and aggressively depressive?
Your profound awkaing is better explained by a psychosocial developmental stage transition and maturation of brain axons.
Emotional dribble sorry.
Fact check this video…..
Where is the study about fish (causing cancer). I am having trouble giving that up. I will research this also. Been “trying” to be more whole food plant based for a couple years. Recently listening to doctors that promote this lifestyle. I am ready to commit. Thanks!
Thank you
People are getting life changing benefits with carnivore diets also. Its all the processed food, sugar, bad oils, chemicals etc. that are the problem. So if you’re doing a plant-based diet just make sure you’re checking the ingredients.
Howell Cove
Judah Village
12:05 wow. Considering giving up meat and this really hit me.
Oren Club
Wish more people felt this way xxxm👍❤️💋🌈🍒
Jadon Courts
Someone link a recipe for that breakfast veggie smoothie!
I am 40 y.o. and had been enjoying veganism for 9.5 years.
now a days… wt
Ashtyn Walks
I was a vegetarian for 21 years. Mostly vegan. Started eating animal products again a couple of weeks ago. No way! My body hurts more than it has in decades!! I was literally hobbling around the house today like I was 100 years old.
Starting again tomorrow. I had my two week rendezvous, and I am not a fan. I fell for the jargon of needing more protein in my 50s due to hormones. So I just thought why not try animal products? No no no no don’t do this! My body is so mad at me.🤦🏻♀️
Howe Rest
I don’t know, I hear that people get off plants and eat meat based. They feel so much better. I think it could depend on each individual person. Personally, I’ve been going off of meat slowly over the last few years and now can hardly eat any of it. But I do like Greek yogurt with no sugars added, and lots of probiotics.
Rodriguez Betty Thompson Jennifer Perez Gary
Allen Michael Lee Eric Smith Deborah
wonder why lions arent vegan too…
54445 Ibrahim Extension
It breaks my heart how animals are slaughtered.
882 Ansley Shoal
4651 Gordon Ville
74011 Mckenna Branch
Plant based for a month now
Don’t see a difference
Anxiety is gone because of eating plants. Even as a kid I had a bad feeling about eating animals that I just couldn't explain. I loved beans always, the only downside is that I was obsessed with cheese and no longer allow myself to eat dairy. Gluten-free, dairy-free, and plant foods is the way to go, truly. I do enjoy the occasional salmon here and there just because I workout a lot and worry about inadequate protein intake, but maybe with some more practice I can get more creative with the plant recipes. On a mission to heal and feel my best. Its crazy I notice even more physical strength on a plant-based diet. Life becomes easier for me. Its magical.
Physicians refuse to tell their patients the truth. Instead they hand out toxic medications that mask symptoms of a disease but doesn't treat the actual disease. They create lifelong customers for Big Pharma. That's malpractice. They put profit above health!
Amazing
I’ve survived 43 yrs without steak or bacon. Been thriving on plants for decades!! Same weight as I was in my twenties –
blessed to be vegetarian since birth.