The Greenprint. Marco Borges

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СКАЧАТЬ we think so or not, it is part of human nature to search out a set of rules by which to live. And if you have never eaten 100 per cent plant-based before, you will want to learn the most effective and most powerful rules to live by. In the case of the Greenprint, there are twenty-two. You can choose to ignore these laws, and possibly flirt with weight gain and health disasters, or you can learn them, adopt them and mould your food choices and habits around them, and live an amazingly healthy life.

      I developed these laws through clinically proven science and data, by living a completely plant-based lifestyle myself, and by helping others transition to plant-based eating. If I have learned anything over the past twenty-plus years, it is that what works in a clinical setting doesn’t always work in the real world, which is why these laws are as practical as they are scientific.

      A lot of people think they’re doing ‘okay’ with their nutrition choices. Others are flailing and failing. Still others are confused about what to eat or what diet to follow, because there are too many ‘flavour of the month’ diets thrown at them. These diets are hyped, but there’s little credibility behind the hype. Some people may want that secret potion, that magical weight-loss elixir, but it honestly doesn’t exist. If you believe it does, you’ll spend your life in a rabbit hole of diets, filled with empty promises that will most likely leave you weak, overweight and sick.

      The truth is, diets don’t work simply because they are unrealistic and do not offer people the opportunity to develop a lifetime of healthful eating habits – ‘lifetime’ being the operative word here. Diets are a quick fix for a long-term problem, which is often poor eating habits. A diet might work for a month or two, but most people drop the diet within a relatively short period.

      Because of this mess, there’s no clear standard, no boundaries, no real finish line on what to eat and what to avoid. People have forgotten how to make sound nutrition choices. This is why we need these twenty-two laws. In terms of nutrition, we live in a confusing world – how you emerge from that confusion will be determined by whether you implement the twenty-two distinct laws that I reveal to you in this book.

      Learning the Greenprint laws gives you the essential knowledge you need to maintain your and your family’s health. The laws crystallise your thinking and serve as a road map to success. In part 1 of this book, I lay out the twenty-two Greenprint laws. They are a prelude to action – a real master plan for a health-altering, energy-boosting, body-strengthening and planet-saving lifestyle. Whether you are already eating a lot of plants or are more the ‘steak 24/7’ type, implementing the Greenprint laws will be life-changing. Knowing and understanding them is the first step in my Greenprint programme. If you choose to apply them, they can take you wherever you want to go.

      “THE GREENPRINT ISN’T JUST ABOUT LIVING A LONGER LIFE – IT’S ABOUT LIVING A BETTER LIFE.

       THE GREENPRINT DIET

      In part 2, I’ll show you how to put these laws into action, with a nutrition programme that will help you start your journey in an achievable way that will yield powerful results: sustainable weight loss, more energy and protection against life-shortening diseases.

      The programme is structured in three transitional tiers that allow you to progress at your own pace, experiment and learn. I ask you to approach plant-based eating one meal at a time – just like I did in the beginning – until you eventually go 100 per cent plant-based. I won’t overwhelm you on the first day. I won’t ask you for instant change. I won’t tell you to throw out the way you eat overnight and go all or nothing with me – unless you want to! You have that option. Over the years, I have worked with thousands of people to successfully change their diets and their health, but what I realised on my own journey is that no single plan will work for everyone. An all-or-nothing proposition can be a recipe for failure, depending on your personality. That’s where the Greenprint is different.

      The Greenprint programme shows you how to make small changes – the twenty-two most effective ones – to make a difference in your body, your health and the planet. The programme meets you where you are on your journey, and helps you improve your personal greenprint for the better, whittle your waistline, achieve superior health and drain your carbon stream.

      In Tier 1, you’ll eat one plant-based meal a day for eleven days. In Tier 2, you’ll enjoy two plant-based meals each day for eleven days. And in Tier 3 – voilà! – you’ll be ready to fully transition to 100 per cent plant-based eating. Tier 3 includes a forty-four-day plan with specific, easy and delicious meal suggestions, recipes and tips for stocking your pantry.

      This stepwise approach makes it easy to experiment with delicious meals, allowing you to incorporate the foods you love. By initially focusing on just one or two meals at a time, you’ll gain the confidence to fully embrace plant-based eating for a lifetime. With the Greenprint, you’ll take the time to get it right.

       THE HOLY NAME STUDY AND THE GREENPRINT

      To put the Greenprint to the test, my team and I worked with Holy Name Medical Center, ranked one of the top hospitals in New Jersey by US News & World Report, to study the benefits of plant-based eating on the body.

      The study was born from a conversation between Holy Name Medical Center’s Director of Cardiac Catheterization Dr. Angel Mulkay and President and CEO Michael Maron. Mr Maron wanted to compare a vegan versus vegetarian lifestyle and the impact it could have on overall well-being and clinical markers. From there a study was developed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

      This trailblazing clinical trial measured the effects of three different diets over twenty-two days. More than 200 participants were recruited and randomised into one of three cohorts: 1. Western diet (animal-based); 2. vegetarian diet (dairy and plant-based); and 3. plant-based diet (no dairy or animal products). Each participant signed a consent form and kept a food diary.

      In addition, the plant-based group received, at their homes, prepackaged vegan meals from my company for twenty-two days. The vegetarian group received meals prepared in-house for them by their food and nutrition department. The Western diet group simply followed a typical Western-type diet that included animal foods.

      All participants had the following tests prior to and after the twenty-two-day test period:

       STYKU body scanning

      This is a very high-tech scanning system that extracts waist, hip, bust and hundreds of other body measurements and calculates them with less than 1 per cent error. You simply stand on a turntable and hold still for 30 seconds while the platform spins. With its sharp high-resolution infrared images, this technology captures millions of data points in a matter of seconds in a fast, noninvasive process.

       Blood work

       • Complete blood count (CBC)

       • Lipid profile (including total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides)

       • B₁₂ (for the vegan cohort)

       • HgA1C (a blood sugar measurement that determines risk of diabetes)

      After twenty-two days, the blood work results were astonishing when vegans versus vegetarians were compared:

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