I think that food ties us to our community and our traditions, and it's the thing that makes us feel good and connected.

If you want to feel more comfortable and happy, work on making the people around you more comfortable and happy.

An abundance of peer-reviewed science is showing that a whole foods, plant-based diet prevents most heart attacks, strokes, and even many kinds of cancer. It gets you to your ideal weight easily and sustainably, reverses Type 2 diabetes, and even fixes erectile dysfunction (because it greatly improves circulation!).

I was weaned on chicken-fried steak and hominy grits with goopy gravy all over. I loved meat and wore fur.

What you want is to rev up your metabolism so that you are burning fat and calories, not preserving fat and calories.

Every little thing you do adds up, and before you know it, you've created your life. And how you create your life ripples out and affects everyone and everything that crosses your path, known or unknown to you.

Nourished people, people who love and care for themselves, are also more efficient and nicer to be around. When you give yourself permission to relax, people will feel more relaxed around you; your environment will become more harmonious. Balance - between work and pleasure, giving and receiving, seriousness and levity - creates a happy healthy life.