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Dear Dr. Ruth, Do you still maintain a vegan diet all the time and would you recommend switching totally to a vegan diet all at once or attempt a gradual change?  Thank You.

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Thanks for your questions because they are the easiest ones I’ve had in a long time! My answer’s an enthusiastic “YES” regarding my still being on a vegan diet all the time. It’s been 31 years now and I wouldn’t dream of fouling my body with animal products.On your second question, I would recommend doing it all at once. There are several reasons. First, As Dr. Neal Barnard (http://www.pcrm.org) says Big Changes — Big Results! And I totally agree. That’s the way I did it back in 1982 and saw very positive results immediately. Another reason is that once you know the truth about the harm that animal products do to your body, it should be hard to keep adding harm, I would think. Then, too, if you’re cutting back gradually, it’s too easy to backslide as your tastes for foods that you thought were good, keep being maintained. It’s like trying to quit smoking or drinking gradually — it’s just too hard for most people to succeed.

So, thanks for the easy questions and I hope it’s easy for you to make the change. If you have more questions (easy or not), let me know.

With aloha,
Ruth Heidrich, Ph.D.