Body by Plants Founder, Elena Wilkins, Tells All in Exclusive Interview with the Plant-Based Pharmacist

Elena Wilkins
Founder of Vega-licious and Body By Plants

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing the founder and creator of Vegalicious and Body By Plants—Elena Wilkins—about her story and life's work, and she did not disappoint!

Elena has spent years researching and developing her lifestyle program Body By Plants, which includes a whole foods, plant-based diet at its core. She's helped numerous people regain their health and get their life back after doing the same for herself prior to starting her business.

She even surprised her doctors by conceiving a beautiful little girl after being told she was infertile, and she's never looked back.

Please read on as her engaging interview provides hope, inspiration, and a passion for life filled with vibrancy and health that anyone would be jealous of.

Making Sense of Medical Studies and Getting the Most Out of Them for Your Health

Recently, I wrote an article detailing the studies on coconut oil and heart health and was flooded with feedback. A lot of feedback was positive, leaving many individuals enlightened on a topic they may not have known about, some was neutral (or positive) showing reinforcement for what readers already knew, and some was filled with uncertainty, confusion, or even downright disdain for the write-up.

Below, I share a couple of the comments received, both positive and negative, to set the stage for this article:

Coconut Oil Increases Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Possible Death Due to Heart Attacks and Stroke

If you do a Google search for “Coconut Oil Health Benefits” over four million results will pop up. Coconut oil has been made out to be a miracle cure for everything from heart disease to Alzheimer’s disease in our culture, but is it really true? What evidence do we have to support these claims?

The best way to evaluate any claim for any health product is to find peer-reviewed controlled interventional studies testing the use of that product on morbidity and mortality (i.e. disability and death) rates for the disease in question. Unfortunately, for coconut oil, there are no such studies. Without this data we’re left with testimonial stories of one miracle after another happening from those making coconut oil a popularized “health” product.

Curing Migraine Headaches With Diet

According to the National Headache Foundation 29.5 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches, with women being affected three times more then men.¹ Migraines can be debilitating and often lead to the inability to perform normal everyday activities, especially if they become full-blown.

The burden of migraines isn’t just physical pain and suffering. These headaches carry an enormous amount of financial strain on both the patients who suffer from them and on our country as a whole. Recent data has shown that the direct costs of treating migraines—including doctor visits, medications, emergency room visits, diagnostic tests, etc.—is over $11 billion a year in the United States.² This works out to an average of $2,571 annually for each individual. Indirect costs—due to things like decreased productivity and absenteeism from work—are estimated at nearly $12 billion annually.³ Needless to say, migraine headaches are more than just a pain in the neck.

Apple Berry Crisp

Sometimes life calls for dessert, and sometimes you just have to answer that call. Today I unveil one of the most sought after dessert recipes from my book, The Empty Medicine Cabinet.

Apple Berry Crisp

This recipe is filled with flavor, spice, and a whole lot of love. Love for your heart that is. It’s the perfect way to get your sweets on without compromising your health. This berry-rich dessert is loaded with fiber and contains absolutely no cholesterol. It’s also full of disease-fighting antioxidants and has a little bit of apple pie to it with the cinnamon and nutmeg spices added in.

Gout - Prevention and Treatment Options

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis mostly affecting joints of the periphery (feet, knees, hands, and elbows).¹ The big toe is the most common and notorious site of acute gout attacks, and these attacks are extremely painful. Some have said the pain is on the same level of order as childbirth. Needless to say, gout is no fun ordeal to deal with.

With that being said, my goal is to help you understand how gout develops, and show you what you can do about it in order to prevent or treat it.

The Development of Gout

Gout results from a multi-step process that ultimately ends in the formation of uric acid crystals that are deposited into the joint spaces. Joint inflammation and pain then ensues leading to what is commonly called a ‘gout attack’.

Where do these uric acid crystals come from? And how do they form in the first place?

Health Hawk Hour Radio Show Features The Empty Medicine Cabinet

Recently, I had the honor of joining Joel Chudnow on his long-running radio show, Hawk Health Hour. Joel and I discussed my newly published book, The Empty Medicine Cabinet. We talked about safe and alternative forms of treating chronic health conditions like our number one killer - heart disease. I also mention some of my favorite recipes from the book too!

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the archived show of Hawk Health Hour recorded on 2/4/15.

If you're having trouble with the audio then click here to download the mp3.

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by Dustin Rudolph, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacist

Check out Dustin Rudolph's book The Empty Medicine Cabinet to start your journey towards better health. This step-by-step guide leads you through many of today's common chronic diseases (heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and more), giving you the facts on foods versus medications in treating these medical conditions. The book also contains an easy-to-follow guide on how to adopt a whole foods, plant-based diet as a part of an overall lifestyle change, producing the best possible health outcomes for you and your family. Hurry and get your copy today!

We'd love for you to join us in spreading the good word about plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine by telling your family and friends about our website at www.PlantBasedPharmacist.com. 

Share and rate this post below or tell us what you think by posting a comment. Thank you again for stopping by and until next time... be happy, be healthy, and live the life you've always dreamed of!

Photo credits: Freedigitalphotos.net

Why You Should Stop Counting Calories To Achieve Long-Term, Permanent Weight Loss

It’s January, which means millions of people are looking to shed unwanted pounds. Gym memberships have been bought, diets have been started, and resolutions are in full swing. These are all the things determined to make this year THE year to finally lose weight and keep it off for good.

With America’s overweight and obesity rate reaching 68.5% in adults (33.6% overweight, 34.9% obese), these much needed and well-intentioned weight loss efforts are a welcome site.¹ However, if history plays out like it has, then we’re not likely to see any real progress in our bid for slimmer waistlines, as evidenced by this 2014 global systemic analysis report on obesity published in the Lancet: “Not only is obesity increasing, but no national success stories have been reported in the past 33 years.”²

That’s over three decades of failure, enough to make anyone want to quit even before getting started. All hope is not lost though. What we need to do is re-evaluate how we approach weight loss in the first place. We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.

Advocacy for Good Health in 2015

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

Last month I was at Mayo Clinic with my sister. While she was having some tests, I had time to go to the Patient Resource Center, a library of medical information located in the clinic.

Upon entering the resource center, painted in big letters on the wall was the following quote, “The object of all health education is to change the conduct of individual men, women, and children by teaching them to care for their bodies well, and this instruction should be given throughout the entire period of their educational life.” — Charlie H. Mayo

Blueberry-Banana Oatmeal Pancakes (Oil-Free)

Lazy off-day mornings are meant for sleeping in and for putting the worries of your week behind you. They’re also meant for whipping up your favorite homemade pancake recipe and enjoying a nice, relaxing breakfast to start off the day.

With that in mind, I’d like to share with you my favorite pancake recipe that’ll surely have you coming back for seconds. The recipe below is a slight variation from the recipe included in my latest book, The Empty Medicine Cabinet. The only difference is the type of flour being used. Here, I use oat flour, and in my book, I use whole-wheat flour. Nevertheless, both versions are the perfect way to start off your morning.

Off The Reservation Book Review and Giveaway Contest

I hate politics, but I loved this book.

Off The Reservation is the fictional account of 16-year Congressman Evan Gorgoni as he reaches a breaking point in his own political career: continue fighting the traditionally backed, corporate-funded, do-nothing American political system, or give up hope and walk away from politics forever?

Gorgoni chooses the latter, but then something miraculous happens. Gorgoni not only doesn’t walk away from politics, his career actually takes an unexpected turn for the better (or worse, depending on how you look at it). No one could’ve predicted what would happen next.

So what took place and how did it all unfold?

Diverticular Disease and Diet

It is an all too often occurrence in my line of work as a hospital pharmacist that I see patients coming into the Emergency Room doubled over with abdominal pain. This isn’t your typical upset-stomach-because-you-ate-something-spicy kind of pain, but rather a severe give-me-morphine-now type pain. The pain is obviously bad enough to land someone in their local ER, otherwise they’d just pop some Tums and call it a night.

What’s happening here? Why are these patients in so much pain?

While many different medical conditions can cause abdominal pain diverticulitis is one of the common culprits in cases like the one described.

Thanksgiving - Food Traditions Revisted

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

Thanksgiving - it’s a feeding frenzy and a day of guilty pleasures. We eat more than we should - and oh my - the calories!

Here’s how to have an epic Thanksgiving dinner with a nutritional boost, and save on the waistline at the same time.

5 Tips to Eating Healthy During the Holidays

by guest blogger Holly Yzquierdo

We are all adults here so I'm going to go ahead and say it. You can't let a couple of holidays completely derail your health or your goals. Now I know that was a little harsh but let's think about it objectively. Depending on your traditions you probably only really celebrate a few days between now and the end of the year. Why does that usually turn into a junk food fest for a month and a half? Are those few days worth the downward spiral that usually follows poor food choices. I'm not saying you can't indulge a bit but let's be smart about it. The following tips will help you celebrate without derailing your health.

Back Pain – Taking a Natural Approach to a Painful Condition

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

Nearly  80% of Americans will have back pain in their lifetime. Americans spend at least $50 billion a year on back pain. Lower back pain is the leading cause of disability according to the Global Burden of Disease 2010. Various back disorders include sprains, strains, herniated disc, sciatica, spinal stenosis, and degeneration of disc.

The spine consists of 30 vertebrae and is the body’s main support structure. The vertebrae protect the spinal cord running through the central opening of the vertebrae called the vertebral canal and the nerve roots that extend from the sides of the vertebrae to various areas of the body. Muscles and ligaments that move and stabilize the vertebrae attach to the spinous process located at the backside of each vertebrae and to the transverse process located on the side of each vertebrae. Discs are flexible cushions located between each vertebra and hold the vertebrae together. They allow the vertebrae to bend and twist and minimize stress on the spinal column.