Chapter 1
From Raw Food Vegan to Balanced Health: One Man's Journey
Standing outside Pittsburgh with a 36-foot motor home blocking traffic, I faced a dilemma. The RV shop owner had one absolute rule: "Never, never, never back up." Yet here I was, about to break it. This moment perfectly captures my health journey - sometimes you need to break established rules when evidence shows they're not working. What began as a cross-country adventure with my wife Annmarie in a vegetable oil-powered RV evolved into a profound quest to uncover health truths. Over two and a half years, we produced 932 shows with over 10 million YouTube views, but our most shocking discovery was that much of what we were doing for health was making us unhealthy. The book "Kale and Coffee" has become a cult favorite among health enthusiasts, with celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim Ferriss recommending it for its refreshingly balanced approach. Its popularity stems from challenging the all-or-nothing mentality that dominates wellness culture, showing instead how to achieve vibrant health without sacrificing life's pleasures.
Chapter 2
The Pendulum Swing: From Extreme Restriction to Excessive Indulgence
Six years after that Pittsburgh traffic jam, I stood before my mirror struggling to button my pants. Once one of the fittest guys in the room, I had become what I never thought possible - an overweight health blogger. Four years earlier, I'd been a YouTube health celebrity following what I believed was the purest diet: raw food veganism. I ate kale salads, raw nut butters, goji berries, and drank green smoothies religiously. But this "healthy" diet made me sick - chronically fatigued and barely able to get out of bed.
Dr. James Williams finally delivered news no vegan wants to hear: my adrenals were in deep fatigue because of my diet, and I needed animal protein. The lab reports confirmed it - my hormone levels were lower than men 50 years my senior. My pregnenolone level was just 5, when it should have been over 100. My cholesterol was dangerously low at 111, preventing proper hormone production. I was terrified that everything I'd taught my followers was wrong.
In response, I quit completely. I abandoned all restrictions and embraced an organic but indulgent diet of grass-fed beef, craft beer, wine, and French fries. The pendulum had swung to the opposite extreme. Now, 18 months later, I weighed 223 pounds - 38 pounds over my ideal weight. My knees ached, I caught more colds, and depression crept in like Bay Area fog.
Standing on the office package scale, I made a promise: today would begin my personal revolution. I was determined to find balance between health commitment and enjoyment - to get back in shape on my own terms and prove it's possible for others too. This time, I'd examine everything through a lens that focuses on techniques, foods and diets that bring the best results with minimal effort - a renegade approach that questions gurus, media, and companies. I was convinced great health doesn't need to be complicated, and I intended to prove it.
Chapter 3
The Health Information Crisis: Why We Can't Trust What We Hear
Standing nervously in a Beverly Hills hotel room-turned-television studio, I waited for reality star Kimora Lee Simmons, who was over an hour late. Two cameras faced me across the kitchen bar while crew members buzzed around equipment. The producer finally told me, "Reality TV is not reality" - a phrase that echoes in my mind as I consider how our health information is similarly distorted.
When Kimora finally arrived, she was clearly not interested in my green juice demonstration. My attempts at motivation fell flat, and the final four-minute segment showed me as her "juice consultant" handing her a five-gallon bottle of pre-made juice. This experience reinforced that our health information comes from questionable sources - from Sensa's fraudulent weight-loss claims ($364 million in sales before FTC intervention) to Kellogg's unsubstantiated health claims about Rice Krispies and Frosted Mini-Wheats.
With children's cereals containing up to 50% sugar, it's clear we can't trust the normal channels for health information. Dr. Alan Hirsch's Sensa product claimed sprinkling powder on food would melt away weight, generating $364 million before the FTC imposed a $46.5 million judgment. Even Kellogg's faced FTC action for falsely claiming Rice Krispies "helps support your child's immunity" and that Frosted Mini-Wheats "improved kids' attentiveness by nearly 20%."
Our health is too sacred to leave to producers, journalists, gurus, marketers, or even government regulators. We need a different approach - one that acknowledges we've become the only species on Earth that doesn't instinctively know what to eat. We've created entirely unnatural foods: hybridized fruits without seeds, nutrient-stripped processed items requiring fortification, genetically engineered organisms, and shelf-stable products that outlast doctoral degrees. Even seemingly natural foods like modern bananas have been bred into supersized tubes of sweetness with reduced protein and fiber - causing diabetes in zoo monkeys.
Chapter 4
Ancestral Wisdom and Modern Genetics: Finding Your Personal Food Path
I wake panicked at 15,000 feet in the Peruvian Andes, gasping for oxygen, bundled in every piece of clothing I packed yet still freezing. Outside our tent, moonlight illuminates the ice-covered glacier lake and towering Ausangate peak. This quest to find humanity's natural diet has taken me farther than I'd imagined, camping with people from an ancient culture whose lifestyle is only now beginning to change.
The Q'ero have inhabited these mountains for millennia, possibly predating the Incans. Their traditional diet was remarkably simple: potatoes, corn, alpaca meat, trout, and coca leaves - a simplicity I found difficult to reconcile with modern nutritional wisdom that prizes variety. After sharing an authentic meal of potatoes cooked in a traditional watia (mud-brick oven) and trout, Sebastian - a Q'ero shaman who straddles traditional and modern worlds - and I share wine, offering the first drop to Pachamama.
What struck me most was how different the Q'ero diet is from other long-lived cultures. The Okinawans thrived on sweet potatoes (80% of calories) while the Q'ero have 400+ potato varieties, yet there's no dietary overlap between Blue Zone cultures. This leads to a crucial insight: longevity depends more on what you exclude from your diet than what you include. All Blue Zone cultures avoid modern processed foods, GMOs, and factory-farmed animals. They eat mostly plants, some fish, seasonal foods, "superfoods," and polyphenol-rich foods (coca leaves, green tea, coffee, cacao).
But genetics matter too - the Q'ero's genes adapted to their diet over thousands of years. As a genetic "mutt" with Italian, Irish, English and Polish heritage, I need a different approach. Why can some people tolerate foods that make others sick? The answer lies in our genes and requires personalized nutrition rather than one-size-fits-all diet plans.
This explains why I had to end the "diet wars" for eternal internal dietary peace. In 2011, I hosted the Great Health Debate, bringing together prominent vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters to discuss their diets. My goal was threefold: show that most healthy diets share 80-90% commonality, demonstrate that genetic differences account for the remaining variations, and encourage blood testing to determine which diet works for each individual.
Chapter 5
The Hidden Toxins in Our Food Supply
Opening a lab analysis of 13 household foods tested for heavy metals, I was shocked to discover green tea - a universally praised superfood I'd consumed daily for two years - contained 1,570 ppb of lead. This revelation fulfilled my "geeky dream" of testing our family's diet for invisible toxins, but confronted me with uncomfortable truths about what lurked in our kitchen cabinet.
Walking through the grocery store, I had selected ten items my family regularly consumed to test for four dangerous heavy metals: mercury (attacks kidneys and nervous system), cadmium (impairs cardiovascular and reproductive functions), lead (causes kidney damage and developmental disorders), and aluminum (linked to brain and bone disease). My selections included Hudson's favorite organic baby smoothie packs, seaweed snacks from Korea, cashews, organic oats, dulse seaweed, goji berries from China, cat food, mainstream baby rice cereal, commercial baby formula, and sushi rice.
While waiting for lab submission paperwork, I discovered alarming research: a 2005 Environmental Working Group study found 287 chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of ten random infants, and a 2009 CDC survey detected 212 chemicals in 2,500 participants, including dangerous flame retardants, cadmium, and rocket fuel chemicals. These toxins enter our bodies daily through common household items - plastics, cosmetics, building materials, and food.
When the lab results arrived, I spoke with project manager Lydia to confirm their accuracy. Most foods tested had undetectable or negligible heavy metal levels - good news. However, the seaweeds and rice showed higher arsenic levels, with one seaweed product also high in cadmium. Most concerning, my Chinese green tea showed such high lead levels that the lab ran the test three times to verify.
My comparative testing of green teas revealed dramatic variations in lead content: Brazil (96.2 ppb), Hawaii (1,790 ppb), and Japan (69.7 ppb). I immediately switched to the Japanese brand, reducing my lead exposure by over 2,200%. We also eliminated the high-cadmium seaweed snacks and began searching for lower-metal cat food. Following expert advice that "zero" is the only acceptable level of heavy metal exposure, we committed to annual random testing of our regular foods and implemented strategies to reduce our overall toxic load.
Chapter 6
The Ex-Vegan's Dilemma: Ethical Meat Consumption
I find myself nervously entering a butchery class, complete with apron, towel, and name tag. When the shop owner Monica hands me a large plastic cup, my stomach turns as I imagine it's for collecting blood or discarded animal parts. She laughs and explains it's just for water, but the gamey smell of the shop has already put me on edge - a former vegan now stepping into unfamiliar and morally challenging territory.
The headless carcass of a lamb is placed on the table before us. At nearly 50 pounds and five feet long, the marbled reds, pinks, whites, and yellows of blood, muscle, sinew and bone make me uneasy. As Bill pulls out a U-shaped hand saw, I can't help comparing this six-month-old lamb to my son Hudson who's 18 months old. I'm about to help turn this animal into various cuts of meat, and I feel completely unprepared for the emotional weight of this experience.
My six years as a vegan began for health reasons, not animal rights. What convinced me veganism was superior were countless healing stories from people who'd recovered from serious illnesses. Physicians like John McDougall, who witnessed Hawaiian islanders getting sicker as they abandoned traditional plant-based diets, have documented the healing power of plant foods. So why did people like author Susan Schenck and I experience health problems as long-term vegans? Despite her success with raw veganism, Susan developed vitamin deficiencies and memory loss so severe she forgot her husband's phone number.
As Bill cuts the lamb into sections, I notice my discomfort lessening once the carcass no longer resembles an animal - this psychological dissociation likely explains America's meat obsession. The average American consumes 270 pounds of meat annually, second only to Luxembourg. Anthropologically speaking, there's never been a fully vegan culture in human history. According to Nature, humans began incorporating meat at least 2.6 million years ago, with fossil evidence showing butchery marks on bones.
There's a vast difference between the healthy lamb on our butcher block and factory-farmed animals. At Green Goose Farm, Roy explained his animals rarely get sick because they eat grass and rotate pastures. Compare this to commercial farms where 80% of U.S. pigs have pneumonia at slaughter and up to 30% of cattle have abscessed livers. The nutritional difference is striking too - studies show grass-fed meat contains two to five times more anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed meat.
Blue Zone cultures - the world's longest-living populations - all consume significantly less meat than North Americans and Europeans. Most reserve meat for special occasions: Sardinians eat it on Sundays, Ikarians serve goat at celebrations while eating fish regularly, Okinawans eat pork and fish sparingly, and Seventh-Day Adventists are largely vegetarian. While I believe some animal products are necessary for most humans, eating more plants and fewer animal products appears optimal for longevity.
Chapter 7
The Exercise Myth: Finding Your Fat-Burning Zone
I discover the folly of extreme fitness challenges while enduring electric shocks and ice baths during a Tough Mudder race. This misguided approach to exercise - believing fitness must be painful to be effective - reflects America's confused relationship with physical activity. While studies show 80 percent of Americans don't get enough exercise, those who do often overdo it, with injury rates for runners reaching 79 percent annually.
Humans are genetically built for simple locomotion - walking, running, and jumping. Biologist Bernd Heinrich explains that our survival as hunters depended on slow-twitch endurance muscles that allowed us to outlast prey animals with fast-twitch sprinting muscles. Our psychological evolution favors long-range pursuit, as those who couldn't maintain extended chases "left fewer descendants." While Neanderthals were stronger, our ancestors' running efficiency gave them the evolutionary advantage, especially in hot weather.
After reading Heinrich's book, I attempted a marathon without proper training and suffered an eight-month injury. This all-or-nothing approach typifies American fitness habits - we either overdo it or do nothing at all. Studies show less than 5 percent of Americans get recommended exercise amounts, while those who do exercise often injure themselves.
Phil Maffetone, a holistic chiropractor who worked with celebrities like James Taylor and champion triathlete Mark Allen, closed his practice to pursue songwriting but was drawn back when music producer Rick Rubin sought his help. Phil's approach - exercise less, do it more efficiently, be patient - contradicts the American obsession with quick results. His work with top Ironman athlete Angela Naeth demonstrates that reducing training volume can improve performance and prevent injury.
The key to beneficial exercise isn't the type but maintaining the right heart rate - your fat-burning zone rather than the stress-inducing sugar-burning zone that depletes glucose and creates lactic acid. The body has two major fuel systems: the aerobic system that burns fat within a specific heart rate range, and the anaerobic system that burns glucose and creates lactic acid. We're often addicted to pushing into the anaerobic zone, but this creates stress that outweighs short-term benefits.
Your optimal exercise heart rate is individual. While generally a rate between 105-134 beats per minute is in the fat-burning zone, training at your maximum aerobic heart rate is ideal for longevity. Phil Maffetone's 180 Formula helps determine your ideal training heart rate based on age, health and fitness. The slower your heart beats, the more conditioned you are - your heart works less during exercise, you're more likely to burn fat, and you experience less stress.
Chapter 8
Stress Management: The Missing Piece of the Health Puzzle
During a stressful airport delay with my screaming toddler, I notice my wife Annmarie remains perfectly calm while I'm frazzled. This "Annmarie Effect" demonstrates how our thoughts create stress, not external circumstances. On our flight, I reflect on how cortisol - the stress hormone - directly links to inflammation and weight gain. Harvard research shows stressed individuals gain 3+ pounds on average, while inflammation triggered by chronic stress contributes to numerous diseases. Stress essentially accelerates aging, as Hans Selye concluded after 50+ years of research.
In 2004, my friend Nick Ortner introduced me to EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or "tapping." Initially skeptical, I watched a video where Gary Craig helps a man overcome his water phobia through this strange technique of tapping specific points on the body while discussing fears. Remarkably, within minutes, the once-terrified man went from avoiding a pool to floating and splashing in it - a transformation that left me stunned.
Psychologist Roger Callahan discovered tapping in 1979 while working with a water-phobic patient named Mary. After trying everything else, Callahan had her tap under her eye (the end of the stomach meridian in Chinese medicine), and her anxiety vanished. Research by Dawson Church shows tapping reduces cortisol levels by 24-50% in PTSD veterans, while talk therapy produced no reduction. The technique works by stimulating acupressure points that disrupt the brain's signals to produce stress hormones.
At a health conference, I was introduced to holy basil, an adaptogen that works with the endocrine system to either calm or energize the body as needed. After taking the holy basil capsules, I experienced a remarkable sense of calm and collected focus. Holy basil (tulsi) has been revered in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries, with Hindus considering it the most sacred plant. Research shows it lowers blood pressure, reduces inflammation, strengthens the immune system, and counteracts stress.
I recommend combining holy basil and tapping for maximum stress relief - a powerful one-two punch. Holy basil, taken daily, acts as preventative maintenance, keeping your body in stress-prevention mode so you're less reactive to triggers. Tapping then delivers the knockout blow, addressing deeper stress responses.
Chapter 9
The Dietary Debates: Sugar, Carbs, Gluten and Alcohol
After a year of extreme dietary restriction - no sugar, no carbs, no fruit - to combat what I believed was candida, I reached my breaking point. Despite initial improvements, my symptoms of fatigue, acne, and mood swings returned or worsened. I'd been eating the same limited foods daily, convinced this restrictive diet would eventually cure me, but I started to question everything.
Four months later, I abandoned my carb-free diet and consumed enormous amounts of goat yogurt - sometimes 64 ounces daily - often with honey or berries. I finally felt better. My mistake was continuing the anti-candida diet long after likely eliminating the infection, missing that my symptoms were actually from adrenal and hormonal issues.
Tom Staniford, a competitive cyclist with MDP syndrome (which prevents his body from storing fat), surprisingly has type 2 diabetes despite being extremely thin. This reveals something crucial about sugar, carbs, and diabetes: it's not carbs alone that cause problems, but the combination of carbs with fat in the bloodstream. This explains why rural Chinese eating 80% carb diets in The China Study remain healthy - they consume only 10% fat, avoiding the problematic high-fat/high-carb combination that leads to insulin resistance.
For my own weight loss journey, I found success with a high-vegetable, medium-protein, lower-carb and lower-sugar approach - not eliminating carbs entirely but moderating them. I include fruit sugar in morning smoothies and rice at lunch or dinner while still losing weight.
For my son Hudson's second birthday, we made a car-shaped carrot cake with gluten-free flour, honey, and yes - cream cheese icing with white sugar. Unlike many health experts who hide their occasional indulgences, I'm honest about it. Sugar and processed carbs can be occasional treats, though true sugar addicts should avoid them entirely.
Gluten, a compound of proteins found in wheat, barley and rye, has been in our diets since wheat cultivation began 10,000 years ago. Many researchers connect increased gluten sensitivity to wheat hybridization in the mid-20th century. Norman Borlaug's Nobel Prize-winning "Green Revolution" created higher-yield, hardier wheat plants - but with more gluten. Dr. Joseph Murray's 2009 study in Gastroenterology proved young men today are 4.5 times more likely to have celiac disease than their forebears.
My journey with alcohol began anew in January 2011 on a Sarasota beach with James, who brought Sardinian wine and performed a blessing ritual. After nine years of abstinence following my college drinking days, I was ready to reconsider alcohol's place in my life. Sardinians drink Cannonau wine daily yet live long lives without typical alcohol-related diseases. While some experts credit the wine's high flavonoid content (2-3 times that of other wines), I believe this explanation is shortsighted. The Sardinians' longevity likely comes from their overall lifestyle - walking daily, strong family connections, community living, plant-based diet, and low stress - which counteracts alcohol's negative effects.
Chapter 10
The Coffee Experiment: Finding Your Personal Balance
I love everything about coffee - its taste, smell, sound, and the energy it gives me. But I quit drinking it nearly ten years ago after health gurus convinced me it was harmful. In May 2012, I was tempted by the seductive aroma of my friend's espresso in a Berkeley cafe. Having already abandoned my strict diet and gained 35 pounds, I rationalized that organic, fair-trade coffee might give me the energy boost I needed. Plus, the Nicoyans in Costa Rica drink coffee daily and are among the world's longest-lived people.
A week into my experiment, I settled into drinking morning espresso, preferring stronger, creamier shots to sour ones. I avoided regular coffee after experiencing jitters. Reviewing research on coffee reveals contradictory findings. On the positive side: Finnish studies show heavy coffee drinkers have dramatically lower rates of type 2 diabetes; the Honolulu Heart Program found regular coffee consumption correlated with decreased Parkinson's disease risk; University of South Florida research suggests 2-3 cups daily may delay Alzheimer's onset; and Harvard research showed women who drink three cups daily were 21% less likely to develop skin cancer than occasional drinkers.
However, three weeks into my experiment, I escalated to double espresso shots as my tolerance built, craving the stronger buzz - a clear addiction warning sign. Over the next three weeks, I tried different brewing methods but noticed concerning physical changes: clammy hands 15-30 minutes after drinking (a sign of overtaxed adrenals), bloodshot eyes, and increasingly brittle, frizzier hair.
By week six, my fingers and hands began hurting when I typed - not excruciating pain, but enough to disrupt my work every ten minutes. I recalled a Finnish study that analyzed 25,000 people over 15 years and found strong links between coffee consumption and rheumatoid arthritis. I decided to end my experiment early, but faced a problem: I was already addicted again.
After quitting coffee, my body recovered quickly: red eyes cleared up in 3-4 days, hair regained its shine within a week, and within two weeks my hands were no longer clammy, cold or aching. I discovered the reason is genetic - two specific genes determine how quickly we metabolize caffeine. According to genetic testing company 23andMe, 51 percent of people are slow caffeine metabolizers like me, while 49 percent process it quickly and can drink more with fewer side effects.
Chapter 11
The Power of Fasting and Mental Activity for Longevity
I've gone four days without eating anything - no food, tea, or juice - just pure distilled water. I'm at the True North Health Center in Santa Rosa, California, voluntarily undergoing a medically supervised water-only fast under the direction of Alan Goldhamer, who has supervised over 10,000 such fasts since 1984. Despite my usual blood sugar crashes when missing meals, I feel fantastic - better than I have in years. I feel sharp, quick, and energetic.
Alan Goldhamer explains that water fasting is like rebooting a computer's hard drive - you shut everything down, restart, and many problems clear out automatically. His work gained momentum through his success treating high blood pressure. Working with Cornell researcher T. Colin Campbell, they conducted a cohort study of 174 patients who underwent medically supervised water fasts. The results were remarkable - all participants lowered their blood pressure enough to eliminate medication, with an average reduction 60 points better than standard medical treatments.
On my first day of fasting, I meet with Dr. Michael Klapper, a traditionally trained physician who now works at True North. He believes that water fasting is so powerful that "if there was a pill that did what 21 days on water will do for you, we would all be rich." The key to restoring energy is removing factors that make you sluggish and those giving false energy. Caffeine and sugar are "energy impostors" that create chemical dependencies.
Breaking my fast with mango, papaya, watermelon and figs is nearly orgasmic - the flavors incredibly intense. After five days, everything feels reset: clear eyes, fresh breath, sharp mind, smooth digestion. I've eliminated stimulants, healed my gut, and attempted an emotional break. Four years later, I'm still applying these principles: following a plant-strong diet with minimal inflammatory foods, occasional three-day cleanses, and running regularly. I've dropped from 223 to 191 pounds, my skin looks better, and most importantly, my mind is clearer.
I'm at Starbucks near the Pittsburgh airport, waiting to pick up my mother so we can visit my 95-year-old grandfather who's under hospice care. Despite searching for health secrets in long-lived cultures and scientific studies, I've overlooked my own grandfather as a living example of longevity. Just weeks ago, he was still mowing his lawn, watching news, and fighting with local officials about his well water - sharp and capable until the end.
My grandfather has defied all odds living into his 90s despite shopping at Walmart and the Entenmann's Bakery outlet. One factor I'm certain of is his mindset - revealed to me during a visit to his home. Despite his age, he maintained an impressive computer setup for archiving my grandmother's artwork. On his monitor was an embossed label: "When you lose the mental game, you lose the physical one." This philosophy, I believe, has been fundamental to his longevity, regardless of diet or exercise habits.
After 233 days of balanced living - not perfection - I've lost 33 pounds without feeling deprived. The most consistent healthy habit was drinking 225 green smoothies for breakfast, missing only during travel and one-day water fasts. This simple change proved powerful not just nutritionally but psychologically - starting with a green smoothie leads to healthier choices throughout the day. I've learned that exercise isn't simply about calorie math but about improving overall metabolic efficiency. Most importantly, I've adopted a "100-year outlook" for health decisions rather than seeking quick results, borrowing from the Q'ero people's 1,000-year perspective when making choices.
