Ever think about going vegetarian? Interested in the idea, but don’t feel ready to cut out meat just yet? Do you equate vegetarian fare with bunny food? Worried that all vegetarian dishes are going to taste like lettuce?
The folks at the Society for Vegetarian Inclined People (SoVIP) and the Healthy Palate restaurant would like to have a word with you.
It’s the “inclined” part of SoVIP that founder Dr. Brenda Forsythe wants people to be aware of.
“This organization is called ‘vegetarian-inclined’ for a reason,” she said. “It’s not exclusive to vegetarians. In fact, many—perhaps everyone who shows up at our meetings—are probably not vegetarians.”
Forsythe, a veterinarian, founded SoVIP in 2007 as a way for people interested in vegetarianism to learn more about the practice, meet and socialize with like-minded people, and sample vegetarian dishes.
Some participants adopt a vegetarian diet strictly for better health, while others do so for ideological reasons. But all agree that, whatever the reasoning, the benefits are undeniable. For Abiole Oladoke, going vegetarian may have saved her life.
Oladoke—a health coach and wellness consultant—owns the Healthy Palate restaurant inside Family Health and Fitness in Santa Maria. Oladoke moved to the United States from Nigeria in 1996, and, she says, started experiencing a myriad of health problems that she now attributes to her diet.
“When I came to the U.S., I bought into the fast food idea,” she said. “When I joined the Army, things just got worse as I started eating what everyone else was eating.”
First it was an almost constant state of anemia: “I was taking iron pills, drinking water, eating red meat. The more of those foods I ate, the worse I became.” Then she developed tumors. Then came kidney and thyroid problems. Doctors’ visits did no good, with CT scans, ultrasounds, and EKGs all finding nothing, she said.
The last straw came, she said, when she was driving down the highway and suddenly found herself facing oncoming traffic with no memory of blacking out. Enough, she decided, was enough. Oladoke switched to an organic and plant-based diet.
Her health problems cleared up, her doctor told her to “keep doing whatever it was [she] was doing,” and she hasn’t looked back since. She saved more money on food and hasn’t been to the doctor since, except for physicals.
“I decided to apply my brain rather than let people tell me what to do,” she said. “I have to eat anyway.”
Oladoke explained that, while the health benefits are important, so is pleasing the palate. She makes a point of creating meals that won’t lead diners to equate “vegetarian” with “bland.”
“I don’t eat bland food,” she said. “Food has to taste good.”
While not everyone who chooses vegetarianism sees such dramatic results, Bill Kleinbauer is a staunch advocate of a plant- and whole-food-based diet. The 73-year-old retired aerospace engineer helps with SoVIP and says he got his family started on the vegetarian lifestyle after attending a whole- and plant-based-foods clinic in 2003.
“I’ve always had cholesterol in the 230s, and after I retired it kept going up,” he said. “[After the clinic], my cholesterol went from 252 to 202 after 21 meals.”
He’s since dedicated himself to taking what he learned and spreading the word.
Dr. Forsythe said her reason for adopting a vegetarian lifestyle was “absolutely an ideology concern.”
“As a veterinarian I have a great love for animals,” she explained. “If I was going to be a healer of animals, I had to be a little bit more than a healer of animals right in front of me.”
That sentiment is shared by others, but Kleinbauer wants to make sure interested people aren’t scared off by the group’s ideology.
“We’re a little oriented towards animal rights,” he acceded, but added that no matter where their underlying interest in vegetarianism lies, all are welcome at SoVIP meetings. m
Contact contributor Nicholas Walter through the executive editor at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 22-29, 2009.