Here in the U.S., we measure our food in ounces and pounds, and our liquids in teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, pints, quarts, and gallons. We are pretty comfortable in knowing that there are 16 ounces in a pound; 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon; 4 tablespoons in ¼ cup; 2 cups in a pint; 4 cups or 2 pints in a quart; and 16 cups, 8 pints, or 4 quarts in a gallon. Whew!

Elsewhere, food is measured in milligrams, grams and kilograms, and liquids in milliliters and liters (or millilitres and litres, depending on where you’re from). And quite simply, there are 1,000 milligrams in a gram, 1,000 grams in 1 kilogram and 1,000 milliliters in 1 liter. That’s it. That’s all you need to know to measure foods and liquids using the metric system.

Given that most Americans do not understand the metric system, I find it interesting that dietary recommendations and nutritional labels in the U.S. are written in terms of grams. Grams of protein. Grams of dietary fiber. Grams of carbohydrates. Grams of fat. The problem is that we don't know how to convert between the English and metric systems.

So, what is a gram and what does a gram look like? Let’s start with a unit we are comfortable with, an ounce. An ounce of something roughly will fit into the palm of your hand. An ounce of salt takes up a little less than 2 tablespoons. An ounce of tomato paste takes up even less of those 2 tablespoons than an ounce of salt because the tomato paste is denser than the salt due to the higher liquid content.

A gram is much, much smaller than an ounce. There are 28.35 grams in an ounce. If you want it to seem like you’re eating more, think of a 4-ounce serving of something as a 113.4-gram serving. That sounds like substantially more! A gram of salt takes up slightly less than ¼ teaspoon and a gram of tomato paste takes up even less of the ¼ teaspoon.

How can you use this information? Knowing that a gram is close to ¼ teaspoon, you know that a teaspoon weighs approximately 4 grams. Knowing that an ounce is close to 2 tablespoons and weighs about 28 grams, you know that a tablespoon weigh roughly 14 grams.

This at least gives you a visual when you’re reading nutritional labels and helps you picture the amount of food being described in terms of grams.

So, you just gave up all meat, dairy, and other animal-based foods and adopted a whole food plant-based diet. While technically there is a difference between a whole food plant-based diet and being vegan, for the sake of telling your friends and family, they will likely have at least some familiarity with what it means to be vegan, so go ahead and call it vegan, because as it is, you’re going to have enough explaining to do.  

In the beginning, the hardest part about giving up all those savory animal-based foods could be telling others that you gave up all those savory animal-based foods. Compared to that, the diet itself can be easy!

Why do I say that? It’s because of how people react to this seemingly devastating (to them) news. Often they are shocked by it. Often they are disappointed, as if they just lost their best friend. They may fear that you just joined some kind of cult. They may be afraid that you won’t be any fun anymore. They may worry that you didn’t think this through (and secretly hope that it won’t last). They get quiet. You can almost see the wheels turning in their head as they process this new information.

Then come the questions: WHAT?!?! REALLY?!?! WHY?!?! How are you going to get enough protein? Where will your calcium come from? (Same place cows get their protein and calcium) Suddenly everyone is an expert in nutrition. Can you still eat chicken? (No) Can you still eat fish? (No) But at least you can still eat eggs? (No) What’s left? (Tons of veggies, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds).

Then come the knowing comments (they also become experts on the effects of a plant-based diet): You know you will get tired and weak, it’s just a matter of time. You know you won’t be strong enough to work out. You know this can't be healthy. You know you will need to take protein supplements. You know this can't last.  You know you will…. You know you won’t…. You know….

And, of course, EVERYONE has a story about someone they know or someone they heard of through a friend who tried to be vegan, and then got so weak, tired, and sick that they had to start eating meat again (what they don't know is that the person was eating only doughnuts, chips, and soda - that's vegan - and that's really why that person got so weak, tired, and sick).

The idea of consuming only whole plant-based foods seems foreign (and crazy) to most people because generations of us have been raised under the same dietary guidelines devised by the USDA telling us that we need meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs to be healthy. The only problem is that many of those who have served on the USDA panels that created or updated the dietary guidelines also had/have interests in those very industries whose foods are recommended by the USDA’s guidelines. Hmmm.

It’s no wonder that people react the way they do when you tell them that you adopted a whole food plant-based diet. They don't believe it's healthy. And typically all they can think about is what you’re giving up without considering what you’re gaining in return.

They probably don’t know about all the amazing healthful benefits, such as increased energy, feeling light, weight loss, looking and feeling younger, stable blood sugar, complete reversal of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, lower blood pressure, glowing skin, clearing of acne, elimination of migraine headaches, elimination of erectile dysfunction, reduced risk of ever getting a chronic degenerative disease, likely reducing and possibly getting off any medications, and improved survival if you already do have a chronic degenerative disease to name a few. 

They probably also don’t know about the many winning triathletes who adopted a whole food plant-based diet for more energy and better recovery times and found that their performances actually improved with the diet. 

Although, they are likely to notice and even admit to a marked change in you. The first things they will probably notice is that you've lost some weight and how healthy and vibrant you look. They will notice that the bags that normally live under your eyes are gone. And although they won’t quite trust the diet, they may become more curious to learn more about it.

I like to think of being on a whole food plant-based diet as being the kid with the helmet. When I was a kid, nobody wore helmets when riding bicycles or skiing. Anyone who wore a helmet got picked on. Eventually, as statistics revealed the toll of not wearing helmets, we learned that something had to be done, and began wearing helmets to keep us safer. Now nearly everyone wears a helmet on a bicycle or on the slopes. Those who don’t are the ones who get picked on today.

Right now those of us who have adopted a whole food plant-based diet are the “kids with the helmet”, and we get picked on. As the majority of people become more and more aware of the toll of consuming the Standard American Diet, and that controlling their own health is as simple as choosing whole plant-based foods over animal-based foods, like wearing helmets, eventually more and more people will embrace and adopt a whole food plant-based diet.

Until then, all I can say if you’re a “kid wearing a helmet” is to get used to the questions and come up with good answers that hopefully help to educate those around you. Eventually I believe that almost everyone will be “wearing helmets”.

Add a comment below telling us your favorite story about breaking the news to your friends and family.

You’ve likely heard much about healthful benefits of following the Mediterranean diet in terms of weight loss and cardiovascular (CV) health. The Mediterranean diet typically includes high amounts of olive oil, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and grains with moderate amounts of fish, poultry, and wine (with meals), and low amounts of dairy, red meat, processed meats, and sweets.

A study published in April 2013 in the New England Journal of Medicine tested the effectiveness of the Mediterranean diet for protection against CV disease. The study was specifically designed to test the effectiveness of two versions of the Mediterranean diet, one supplemented with additional extra-virgin olive oil and one supplemented with additional nuts, as compared to a standard low-fat diet.

Nearly 7,500 participants, all with similar medication regimens, were randomly assigned to one of the three groups, and all three groups had similar physical activity. The three groups differed only in the diet. Here’s what they found in a follow-up after nearly five years:

1. 96 CV events occurred in the group on the Mediterranean diet supplemented with additional extra-virgin olive oil (12% reduction in CV events).
   
2. 83 CV events occurred in the group on the Mediterranean diet supplemented with additional nuts (24% reduction in CV events).
   
3. 109 CV events occurred in the group on a standard low-fat diet.
   

The authors of the study concluded that both Mediterranean diets “resulted a substantial reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular events among high risk persons”, and that “the results support the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for the primary prevention of CV disease”.

The Mediterranean diets in this study reduced the number of CV events by as much as 24% compared to a standard low-fat diet. These findings are consistent with the findings of prior observational studies. But why wasn’t a whole food plant-based diet included in this (or any other) study for comparison?

It turns out that CV disease is virtually absent in populations that consume whole food plant-based diets (primarily grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits) such as the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico, the Papua highlanders of New Guinea, and those in rural China and central Africa.

The virtual absence of CV disease in each of those populations demonstrates that a whole food plant-based diet reduces the number of CV events by close to 100%! I would consider those results significant!

Dean Ornish demonstrated that intensive diet and lifestyle changes, namely a whole food plant-based diet, causes regression of CV disease. According to Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, “A plant-based diet with less than 10% fat will prevent CV disease from developing, halt the progress of existing disease, and even reverse the disease in many patients.”

Dr. Esselstyn points out that unlike a whole food plant-based diet, no studies of monounsaturated oils have shown them to arrest and reverse CV disease. The Mediterranean diet and monounsaturated oils have become unjustifiably popular due to the Lyon Diet Heart Study, which showed a slower rate of CV disease progression, hardly an acceptable goal. In a study of patients with CV disease, Blankenhorn actually showed that the disease progressed as rapidly in patients on a monounsaturated diet as it did in those on a saturated fat diet.

So while the Mediterranean diet sounds good compared to a standard low-fat diet, a whole food plant-based diet has consistently demonstrated significantly more impressive results.

Share any results you have experienced on either the Mediterranean diet or a whole food plant-based diet.