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SALT LAKE CITY — When she first came to America, petite Agata Golcz-McGill put on 30 pounds.
"I'm not from here and I can't eat how you eat," she said. "American food is so much more processed. My body doesn't like it."
The Polish native quickly learned that for her own health, she needed to work to incorporate more healthful foods into her diet. She now feeds her family as many fruits, vegetables and other whole foods as she can and said, "it is ultimately about being as healthy as we can."
I'm not from here and I can't eat how you eat. American food is so much more processed. My body doesn't like it.
–Agata Golcz-McGill
"There is no one in my family who has ever had cancer and I want to keep it that way," Golcz-McGill said. To increase their culinary repertoire, she and her husband, Mark McGill, on Thursday attended an introductory Food for Life nutrition and cooking class, offered locally by the national nonprofit organization, The Cancer Project.
The group, which has more than 80 dietetic instructors in locales around the world, is dedicated to advancing cancer prevention through education and research, and has been touting plant-based nutrition for more than two decades. Part of that is teaching people how to make whole meals using strictly plant-based products, but also learning the science behind it all.
"The choices you make can actually make a difference in your life," said Cornell-educated nutritionist Charity Lighten, who lives in Utah and taught last week's class. She served up surprisingly tasty green spinach smoothies, three-bean salad, a vegetable-laden pasta dish and tofu- chocolate mousse to the group of eager students.
"It was eye-opening to me," said Mark McGill, who is generally on a quest to gain weight. "I didn't think I'd like beans … and I'm way into the smoothie thing. I have those all the time. Every little change makes a difference."
Lighten was drawn to the vegan lifestyle after years of "not knowing what to eat anymore." She had too many friends who were diagnosed with cancer at young ages and others whose lives were threatened by debilitating disease.
It was time to take a stand — for her own health and for the health of her family.
Popeye really had it going on. He really knew what he was talking about with spinach.
–Charity Lighten
Lighten voraciously studied health and nutrition, downing egg white after egg white for five years, and she ultimately landed in a book by Dr. Neal Barnard, whose dietary recommendations are outlined by the The Cancer Project. He prohibits animal products altogether and pushes foods from four distinct food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.
"Popeye really had it going on," Lighten said. "He really knew what he was talking about with spinach."
The vibrant instructor, who also blogs at www.wholefoodmommies.com and teaches her own nutrition classes, is a mother of four and somehow encourages them all to eat foods packed with micronutrients about 90 percent of the time. The other 10 percent, she said, she doesn't worry too much about, as "we all have to live in the world."
That world, however, is slowly changing to reflect what people want out of life. Popular grocers, Lighten said, now sell kale, whereas two years ago, the No. 1 dark leafy green could only be found tucked into the deli display cases for decoration.
By loading up on fruits, vegetables and whole grains, Lighten said people can be filled with cancer-fighting antioxidants and phytochemicals, including nutrients such as carotenoids, vitamins E and C, selenium, fiber, lycopene and others necessary to achieve and maintain optimal health.
It's not a cure-all for everything, but Cancer Project dietitian Joseph Gonzales dares anyone to "just try a vegan diet for three weeks and see how you feel." He said that it not only prevents and helps people survive cancer, but can assist in weight loss, increase energy, help with managing diabetes, reduce the risk of heart disease and provide many other benefits for a healthy life.
While not everyone may condone a vegan or even a vegetarian diet at first, Gonzales said it is very easy to get used to for the long haul.
"You eat so much fiber, you're full most of the time," he said.
Usually when someone hears the word 'vegan,' they run for the hills. But it's not like that. Our approach meets people where they're at in life.
–Joseph Gonzales
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's newest dietary recommendation, MyPlate, boasts a nearly 80 percent plant-based diet. It encourages that an average meal include half a plate of fruits and vegetables, whole grains for more than a quarter of the plate, a small amount of protein, and low-fat or nonfat dairy, while avoiding too much sugar, sodium and oversize portions.
"It makes a lot of sense to follow a completely plant- based diet because all of the protective nutrients that are coming from our food is coming from plants," said Gonzales, who has practiced a vegan diet for the past 12 years. "Animal products are high in fat and don't have any fiber, so they're not as protective as the plant in our bodies."
Gonzales said the Cancer Project's Food for Life nutrition and cooking classes, including Thursday's class taught by Lighten, are based on dietary recommendations from peer- reviewed research from various organizations around the world that has been proven over the years. The educational approach shows people which foods are good for them, but also shows them how to make the foods taste good.
"Usually when someone hears the word 'vegan,' they run for the hills," Gonzales said. "But it's not like that. Our approach meets people where they're at in life."
He said the only necessary nutrient a vegan diet withholds is B-12, which can be found and taken in supplement form.
More than 8,000 people across the U.S. and internationally, participated in the classes last year. Instructors are typically people who are converted to the lifestyle after attending the course and then have a desire to spread their knowledge and experience, Gonzales said.
"Most people have a strong desire to eat healthier, but aren't exactly sure where to start," Lighten said.
Additional whole food nutrition and cooking courses will be taught by Lighten at Orson Gygi, 3500 S. 300 West, in Salt Lake City, on Thursdays from Sept. 1 to Sept. 15, and from Sept. 29 to Oct. 13. There is a fee for the series and more information can be found online, at www.CancerProject.org.
Email: wleonard@ksl.com
