Why Is It So Difficult?

"But I just can't give up cheese!"

I hear this frequently. Why are we addicted to animal-based foods? If they are so unhealthy, how come these foods not only taste delicious, but provide happiness and comfort? The answer is the Pleasure Trap:

Instinctively, we have 3 main objectives:

1) Seek pleasure (food, sex, etc...)
2) Avoid pain/failure
3) Conserve energy

All living organisms have these programed into their DNA for the purpose of increasing the likelihood of survival and reproduction. Eating animal products delivers significantly more calories than what our homosapien bodies are programmed to expect. Naturally our minds respond positively to this because we now have all these extra calories we can store in our bodies in case there is a famine, thus broadening our chances of survival, triggering a flood of dopamine (the same hormone released while using addictive drugs).

The message being sent to our brains is that we are being very biologically successful. That may have made the difference between survival and extinction in the early days of man, but today (where extinction and famines aren't an issue anymore) we are sicker and fatter than ever; in a very real sense we are slowly killing ourselves.

For a lot of Americans, the idea of eating mostly plants for the rest of their lives is absolutely dreadful. "You take all the happiness out of eating!" they argue.

Doug Lisle put together this chart below. 

Stage I symbolizes how originally it is normal for humans to eat natural, whole plants; they taste good and give us all our nutrients, and we are happy. 

Stage II represents the euphoric experience of transitioning from plants to foods high in fat, salt, sugar, cholesterol, low in fiber, etc. We all know how unhealthy foods can provide pleasure as the dopamine is released, but once that becomes a consistent diet in our lifestyle, we adopt this new diet and adapt so in Stage III it becomes "normal" for us to eat meat everyday. This is called habituation or neuroadaptation, just like how we notice the smell of a candle once we enter a room, but after 20 minutes we don't notice it anymore.

Eventually we reach a point of a humbling paradigm-shift. We learn the truths of nutrition that we were previously receiving lightly, if at all. We realize diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, etc. are linked to eating lots of animal products and we understand we need to make a change.

Stage IV expresses the emotional shift from eating animal products, to wholesome plants. We undergo a lack of pleasure from just eating plants and suffer from withdrawals. "I miss my cheese!" I experienced this. The struggle is real. For a sense of strength I had to cling to the knowledge that eating this way will produce a much healthier lifestyle.

Finally, Stage V shows that eating a mostly plant-based diet will eventually make us happy and become a normal thing. Eating plants won't be miserable. Our tastebuds literally adjust in sensitivity so even the subtle flavors we couldn't realize before become satisfying. I have learned dozens of delicious recipes that bring me joy. Your sense of self-discipline will also add to your happiness, as well as the assurance that you will never have to worry about contracting many of the chronic health conditions millions of Americans fall victim to. 


Ask your doctor if plants are right for you.