wenty-five years ago, when I was diagnosed with invasive, aggressive, metastatic breast cancer, doctors gave me the prognosis of two to five years to live, at most, with or without treatment. My expert surgeon and radiation oncology team, however, knew little of the value of healthy lifestyle and plant-powered living, and they were uninformed about its effects.

In the many years that have passed, more health professionals are becoming aware of the science behind diet and health and are beginning to incorporate it into their patient care plan. I spoke with two such professionals who shared their views on this practice.

Brangman: The four key areas essential to optimal health are nutrition, physical activity, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy body weight. Nutrition is the most important. I think that nutrition education is lacking in the health system and in medicine. Many people (including health care professionals) do not know or believe in the transformative power of food to literally prevent and reverse certain diseases. Many think that disease is a part of their genetics and destiny. So, I aim to counteract this deficit and go out of my way to teach people about proper nutrition, how to prepare healthy delicious meals, and what foods to eat for optimum health. The nutrition space is crowded with so much conflicting information, so I keep it simple.

I also believe that a major way that we worship God and show Him that we value His creation (our bodies, for example) is by not abusing it with unhealthy food.

Most people who’ve adopted a whole food, plant-based way of eating found that they were able to think clearer, and developed a closer spiritual connection with God when they stopped eating meat and dairy. As an Internal Medicine physician, I witness every day the devastating effects of poor diet on one’s health, including mental health, finances, the ability to move and get around like they want to, or their ability to work.

We know time is short on this earth and the Lord is coming soon. So why not be in the best physical and mental shape possible, so you can move freely, save money on medical bills and put that money towards furthering the Gospel, and doing whatever God has purposed for you to do in this life to spread the Gospel.

When I was working in a primary care setting, I had several patients who made marked improvements in their diabetes, despite being diabetic for years prior to coming to see me. They had never had a provider discuss nutrition with them, and especially not the benefits of eating plant-based foods. Together, patients and I came up with a plan, starting with increasing fruits and vegetables. Then if they were interested, we discussed limiting meat and dairy. I even had one patient who went fully whole food plant based and was able to completely come off all medications for diabetes within four months. Success stories like this are not outliers. I have spoken with countless physicians from around the country who also practice utilizing plant- based nutrition and lifestyle medicine, and who have similar stories about patients coming off medications for diabetes and hypertension.

You can follow Dr. Brangman at https://theplantbasedmd.com, and on social media @theplantbasedmd (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter).

Try this recipe that Dr. Brangman recommends to her patients.

In 2011, Dr. Batiste led in establishing the Integrative Cardiovascular Disease Program, which sought to prevent the reoccurrence of cardiac events through lifestyle intervention. For the last year Dr. Batiste, and his colleague Dr. Eric Walsh, have hosted amazing, life-changing conversations on the podcast, “The Slave Food Project.”

Batiste: Nutrition is the central pillar in the three-pronged attack on chronic disease. Each year, chronic diseases cause 7 out of 10 deaths among Americans. Three chronic diseases, heart disease, cancer, and stroke, account for more than 50% of all deaths each year. The truth is that many chronic diseases could be prevented, delayed, or alleviated through simple lifestyle changes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that improving diet (along with smoking cessation and exercise) would prevent 80% of heart disease and stroke; 80% of Type 2 diabetes; and 40% of cancers.

I had a patient with severe symptomatic coronary artery disease who refused the recommendations for open heart surgery. I placed him on a whole food, plant-based diet without oil, salt or added sugar, along with daily exercise and stress reduction. Within two months of adopting this lifestyle therapy, his symptoms of chest discomfort resolved, and he returned to walking an 18-hole golf course several times per week. His story exemplifies the potential, not a guarantee, of the power of lifestyle to modify disease.

You can follow Dr. Batiste at https://www.slavefood.org, and on social media @healthyheartdoc on Instagram and Facebook, and @iamhealthyheart on Twitter.

Here’s a delicious meal idea that Dr. Batiste always recommends and shares with his patients.

Donna Green-Goodman, MPH writes for MESSAGE Magazine from Huntsville, Alabama where she and her husband operate Lifestyle Therapeutix, A Lifestyle For Better Health Center www.lifestyletherapeutix.com. She is a health educator who is a 25-year breast cancer survivor. She’s been a college professor and a national ambassador for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Circle of Promise Campaign. She is author of Somethin’ to Shout About! (Orion Enterprises, 1999), Cookin’ Up Good Health, (Still Shoutin’, 2008), Still Cookin’ Up Good Health (2017), and executive producer of her own cooking show, Cookin’ Up Good Health!, which aired on HOPETV. Cook Up Good Health with her on Donna’s YouTube Cooking Channel.