Closure of vegan restaurants and why a healthy diet is so important
6 January 2023
Many vegan restaurants have recently closed in the Detroit area, including Chili Mustard Onions, Detroit Vegan Soul (the West Village location has closed but the Northwest Detroit location is open), Green Space Cafe, GreenSpace & Go, Harmony Garden Cafe, Inn Season Kitchen, Nosh Pit, Shimmy Shack, Street Beet and Vedge Cafe, see also Crains Detroit Business 28Dec22. Click here for a current list of Detroit area vegan restaurants and email me with any updates at Nat@PathologyOutlines.com.
These closures, of course, affect the restaurant owners, employees and customers, but these restaurants also served another purpose, to emphasize the importance of a diet based on vegetables, fruits and whole grains to keep us healthy.
Many Americans assume that the main consideration when choosing what to eat is to obtain enough calories to live. But this is not really an issue for most of us - in fact, much of the U.S. adult population consumes too many calories and is overweight (although food insecurity is a problem for many).
I suggest that we think about food not just to satisfy our hunger pains but to prevent disease, notably cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes. We don’t need to be vegan or vegetarian, but it is recommended that 50% of our meal plate should be vegetables and fruits, 25% should be whole grains and only 25% should be healthy proteins.
Source: Harvard School of Public Health
Regrettably, most people I eat with or see eating, although they may be well educated and financially secure, eat only a minimal amount of vegetables and fruit, certainly much less than the 75% recommended above.
A diet high in vegetables and fruits and low in fat is particularly important to prevent cancer, as indicated by the European Code Against Cancer and the derivative American Code Against Cancer that I developed.
Finally, every article today about health should emphasize the importance of avoiding medical misinformation, which is particularly common today. Many people seem to have no shame in making claims that are obviously false and even dangerous. I tend to trust governmental and academic institutions and am skeptical of claims by individuals or institutions who are selling something.