4-Leafers weigh less and take less meds
by J. Morris Hicks
Four days ago, I
posted a BSB requesting some actual DATA from readers about food choices and their impact on our health.
The DATA has been received. About 100 people responded and over
half of them scored at the 4Leaf level. So I am definitely preaching to the "choir" in this first sample. In a "normal" American sample, I would expect to see far less than 5% of the people eating at the 3Leaf and 4Leaf levels combined.
The other responders were distributed equally between 1Leaf, 2Leaf and 3Leaf levels. So what did we learn from this sample of fairly healthy to VERY healthy eaters?
Four Compelling Findings
- Weight. People eating at the 1Leaf level weigh more than people at the 2Leaf level--and 2Leaf people weigh more than 3Leaf people and so forth.
- Consistency. The above finding was true all the way up the scale--with the 4Leaf people having the lowest average BMI.
- BMI. On average, the 13 people scoring 40 or over in the 4Leaf range had an average BMI of 20.3 compared to an average BMI of 24.3 for those scoring in the 1Leaf range (0 to +9).
- MEDS. 70% of the people at the 3Leaf and 4Leaf levels take NO meds. This compares to 80% of the respondents at the 1Leaf and 2Leaf levels who DO take meds.
Our conclusion from this relatively small sample size is consistent with Dr. T. Colin Campbell's definition of the optimal diet for humans.
The closer we get to eating a diet of whole plant-based foods, the better off we will be.
The Bottom Line. The overwhelming message from this sampling of data on this topic is crystal clear:
Eating more whole plants lowers the need for prescription drugs and greatly lessens the cost and problems associated with obesity.
I am thrilled with the results of this small sample and am even more excited about gathering data from a larger sample of "normal" Americans who eat some combination of meat, dairy, eggs, fish and/or refined carbohydrates at almost every meal. I know for certain that most of those "normal" Americans will have 4Leaf scores below zero, larger BMI's, more prescription drugs and a much higher average cost of healthcare.
The survey works. This small sample indicates that our 2-minute online
4Leaf Survey is pretty darn good at assessing the quality of one's food choices--when it comes to estimating the percentage of calories in one's diet that are derived from whole plants. But...
We need a bigger, more realistic, sample!
Where can we find that sample? I am looking for a sample size of at least 500 people. Where can we find them? A few ideas:
- A large church congregation
- PTA association at a school near you
- Sanitation workers or police force in your city
- All employees of a medium size company where you might know the CEO or the VP of HR
I prefer the latter, since it is more likely to lead to a powerful intervention that could result in a gradual decline in the cost of healthcare within that company. It just takes one visionary CEO to get the ball rolling; then other companies, wanting to slash their cost of healthcare, will follow.
Once that CEO sees the clear association between dietary choices--and things that drive the cost of healthcare in his/her organization--he/she may be ready to get serious about helping his/her associates learn to eat higher up the 4Leaf scale.
And we have just the tool to help get them started, an
automated system to accelerate the chances of success:
That "automated system" is ARCH, an acronym for "automated reduction in the cost of healthcare."
Request for Introductions. Can you introduce me to the top person in a single organization that might be interested in helping move this powerful concept forward?
J. Morris Hicks
*The
4Leaf
registered trademark, the
4Leaf Survey, the ARCH system
and all other
4Leaf
materials are intellectual property of 4Leaf Global, LLC.
