When Did Eating Fruits and Vegetables Become Controversial?

This woman in the photo, Barbara, is a 72-yo retired Canadian diplomat who came to my Liver Detox Retreat, in 2024, and again in 2026.

I was smitten with her, in 2024, to be honest. We hadn’t talked since then, though, because she retired to South Africa. I was thrilled when she showed up again.

She’s one of those people who isn’t just interesting; she’s also interested. In every conversation I saw her having, with people at the retreat, she seemed genuinely fascinated by their lives. Asking them followup questions. What they did, what they learned, what they believe.

Don’t you think we should all be more like Barbara? Have you noticed most people wait till the other person is done talking, to say something starting with, “I ….”

In Switzerland every year, we hike; we go on excursions into Switzerland or Italy; or we’ll sit outside and chat, sometimes for two hours after dinner.

At least once a week, I teach an evening class on topics the groups asks for. The clinic teaches impromptu classes, too, sometimes.

All optional, of course–you can stay in your room and read a book, if you prefer. You can have a meal brought to your room.

One of my favorite things about getting to eat 3 meals a day with people I’ve just met, for 2 weeks, is that we get past the small talk. So I learn the most interesting things about them but especially from them–due to their wisdom from 50 or 60 or 80 years of life.

Barbara decided at about my age (59) that she does not ever eat any animal products. Like me, she doesn’t like the label of “vegan” (it’s dogmatic, and we support everyone else’s choices too).

I’m not 100% plant-based. When in Rome, I’ll do as the Romans do. Barbara is so committed to a plant-based diet, she’ll take her own food, to a party, if needed. But she is entirely non-judgmental.

I was rather fascinated, since I don’t meet people in their 70’s who eat entirely plant based, often. (Except, I have met and interviewed Drs. Colin Campbell, Caldwell Esselstyn, Joel Kahn, and the other plant-based doctors, many of them heart doctors.)

Barbara told me she literally never gets tired. She keeps up with the 40 year olds, when we go on hikes. I never get tired, either. I might take a nap once a year.

She has zero health issues and takes zero meds. She’s had her struggles in life, as we all have, and raised two sons to adulthood. But she has this resilient, flexible, forgiving, peaceful attitude.

She tracks complex conversations, stays in them, remembers what we talked about yesterday, or two years ago. Has a fabulous vocabulary.

This is the kind of people I get to meet, at Swiss Mountain Clinic every year. How fascinating is someone who spent decades in diplomacy for a government that is not my own?

Recently, we’ve had a retired cattle-ranching couple attend. And an owner of a bunch of secondhand boutique clothing stores.

The founder of an AI company. An estate lawyer. Some women who’ve raised several children and are deeply involved with grandchildren.

A retired Postal Service employee. A couple who handed off dozens of Ford dealerships to their daughter recently.

I have become fascinated by aging. And watching what people are focusing on, what their mindset is, what their diet and fitness habits are, in their 70’s and beyond.

One superfit couple in their 60’s goes for a walk after every meal. It seems to be working for them! I think physical activity after every meal may become one of the next “good” fads.

You don’t meet many people in their 70’s who eat no meat. I told Barbara that since a lot of anti-vaxxers started following me since 2021 (very unintentional on my part)--they don’t know that I’ve been writing books about health and the plant-based diet for 20 years.

And I’m amazed, since my online following for many years was very supportive of my teaching about nutrition, that I get a lot of rage, every time I post about what was obvious and non-controversial 10 years ago:

That greens, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds are nutritious and important.

I told her before the latest iteration of marketers teaching people the Carnivore and Keto diets…that it’s as if 10,000’s of studies, and knowledge of the last 100 years, has disappeared, for many.

And that many appear to believe we’ve somehow discovered, in the last 15 years, that vegetables are going to kill us.

(Joe Mercola actually told me that, in the height of his Carnivore phase. That the greens and vegetables on my plate, as we both walked through a buffet line, were going to kill me. Thankfully, since he influences many, he has since moved on, from his meat-only phase.)

I told Barbara that people tell me with a straight face, often these days, they’d never eat a “toxic” fruit or vegetable.

Give me some hope. Tell me in comments that you know that a diet high in greens and vegs and fruits and beans etc is useful and necessary for humans.

Yale’s David Katz, MD spends much of his professional life reviewing tens of thousands of studies, and his clinical nutrition textbook cites 6,500 of those studies. His conclusion: eat more whole plant foods, as much as all of your diet, but at least 90-95%.

With our 35’ digestive tract, it’s very logical and physiology-related that we need a lot of roughage, or bulk, for good throughput.

With or without meat. I don’t much care about the argument whether to eat some animal products or not. Tell me what the crux of the diet should be, if you’ve been studying nutrition for years? DM me, or comment below!

If you come to Switzerland with me, next Aug. 29, while no one is going to try to talk you into always having a plant-based diet, Drs. Petra and Friderike believe strongly this is the only way to prepare, for a productive liver flush.

(So you might be an accidental vegan, for 2 weeks. But, it gives your body some extra energy and ability to clean house. Plant foods take 20 minutes to 2 hours, to digest, whereas animal products take between 8 hours and multiple days.

So, energy is freed up, and lots of fiber and enzymes are supplied, to “mop up” and “sweep out” that very long GI tract. I think of soluble and insoluble fiber as your sponge and your broom, respectively.)

You’ll get some help from a professional colonic while you’re there. You’ll have liver hyperthermia, a daily sauna session, and lots of other help, to make sure your liver, your blood, your gut, get a fantastic reboot.

I’m also opening up my schedule, to do consultations for people who want to “pick my brain” about the 20 clinics I went to, all over the world, as well as the extensive reading I’ve done, on what people can do, who want alternatives to allopathic medicine.

If you or someone you love wants a consult, about a medical stay at a clinic, all I ask is that the patient be on the call. (The people close to him or her are welcome, too!)

If you’re considering coming to our retreat, no charge for that call–if you have questions, book me here.

I would love to refer you to the book I wrote, researching holistic treatments for cancer and other degenerative diseases, at 20 clinics all over the world. But I couldn’t write it, because I was the guest of all of those clinics, but I couldn’t recommend 18 of them to anyone.

I can’t say that in a book, but I’m happy to talk about the two best clinics I went to, if you’re looking for good inpatient holistic medical care. I will, of course, not be giving medical advice. I can tell you about my research.

So I couldn’t write a book telling you how amazing 20 clinics were, either! Which is what I thought I’d be doing, at the beginning of this research journey!

It’s not that there aren’t decent people at most or all of the clinics.

Honestly, the best treatment modalities, that people get results from, aren’t cheap, and most of these clinics are cash-strapped, so they default to mostly what I call “spa treatments.”

Nobody wants to fly across the world for that! So, I have a lot to share, and if a consultation would benefit you or someone in your life looking for serious inpatient healthcare outside of the drugs-and-surgery model, I’d be happy to get on a consult. (I just ask that the patient be on the call–caregivers and family or friends welcome to join.)

And again, if you’re wanting a great preventative liver-flush two weeks, I’m happy to answer questions about our retreat next Aug. 29, too, here.