Please introduce yourself 

      My name is Bryan Riddle. I was born and raised in rural Oklahoma, near Foyil/Bushyhead in the Cherokee Nation. I lived there my whole life until last year when I moved with my wife and three daughters to Las Vegas, Nevada, Southern Paiute territory. I am a data analyst and system administrator working remotely for the Registrar’s Office of a state university.

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How do you practice self-care?

      My practice of self-care begins with a mindset. I must believe I am worthy of good health, achieving my goals, and sharing my achievements with others. This mindset fuels my practice. Maintaining a self-care mindset is also an intentional goal of my practice. Mindful recognition of my emotions and fears without judgment is necessary for maintaining my self-care practice.

      I practice self-care by eating nutritious plant-based foods, exercising regularly, and practicing mindfulness while running/walking in nature, drawing, crafting, playing guitar, and writing.

 

 When did you start being aware of your health conditions and the influence of dietary change on your health?

      I recognized I was addicted to food and tobacco in 2014 and started studying how to help myself.

      I found books on mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh and Alan Watts particularly beneficial in helping me to understand my own mind and addiction. I also studied nutrition such as Joel Fuhrman’s books. Fuhrman promoted a nutrient-rich diet heavy in whole plant-based foods. This helped me start to understand nutrition and feel how different foods and activities affected me. I also read many scientific journals and became especially interested in blue zone dietary habits.

       Over the next few years, I made many small dietary changes. In 2017, I quit tobacco, dairy, and overeating all at once. I started working out for 15-20 minutes every day because physical exercise is very beneficial in tobacco cessation. I also did not have the stamina to work out for very long at once. I work out much less frequently now than I did then, but my workouts are typically much longer in duration.

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How do vegan/ plant-based diets improve your physical and mental health?

      In 2019, I stopped consuming and purchasing products made from animals.

One major benefit is that I stay thin and fit with very little exercise unlike when I was eating heavy foods containing meat or dairy. Also, I am lactose intolerant, so completely giving up dairy was a huge benefit to my gastrointestinal health.

      A plant-based diet is not a magic cure for IBS or general anxiety disorder. I had to learn how to prepare and cook beans and many vegetables so I can eat them without stomach pains. While eating a plant-based diet, I still must practice self-care and pay attention to my thoughts. My diet does help anxiety though because I attain deeper levels of meditation and mindfulness since removing animal products from my lifestyle.  

 

Who walked you through the process?

         My wife and I went on this process together without any mentors or guides. We are both self-driven and support each other. I genuinely enjoy studying and academic research. We immersed ourselves in nutrition literature, documentaries, and online communities devoted to wellness, nutrition, and vegan lifestyles.

 

What struggles did you have to overcome when switching to a new eating habit?

         I was raised in the woods of rural northeast Oklahoma. I am from a culture that fishes nearly year-round and hunts deer, quail, and a variety of smaller animals when in season. In my childhood, my family raised cattle and chickens. Animal agriculture is a major part of my upbringing and heritage. I never enjoyed hunting or fishing for sport, but when I was young I fished often to feed my family.

          It was and is incredibly difficult to explain my decision to step away from that lifestyle to those who are still in it. People want a single reason, but I have not yet been able to summarize my multi-year journey into a conversational explanation.

          Another challenge was that I am a cook, currently just for friends and family. I was a pizza cook and restaurant manager professionally until I went to college at 28 years old.

After removing animal products from my diet, I had to modify every recipe I knew. I had to rethink many of the recipes my granny and my mother taught me to cook and every recipe I learned as a pizza cook.

           I did not find a good milk-free cheese recipe or store option for a couple of years, so my pizzas and calzones never turned out. I started getting used to using eggplant and artichoke instead of cheese when my wife found a great cashew cheese recipe.

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Do you have any advice for me and my future readers about the importance of nutrition?

          My advice is to study nutrition from peer-reviewed sources. Nutritional imbalances can occur in vegetarian, plant-based, and omnivorous diets. Paying attention to how your body feels and reacts to different foods is important.

          When I decided to completely remove all animal products from my diet, I went overboard purchasing vegan multivitamins, and vegan protein powder. I also tracked every meal including all my recipes in a micronutrient tracking app. These days I do not do anything so time-consuming or expensive. I make sure I get enough sunlight for vitamin D. I regularly add ingredients fortified with B12 such as nutritional yeast into recipes.

           When you are hungry, eat something with nutrients. Sugar, coffee, soda, and many other foods and drinks suppress your appetite without meeting the nutritional deficiency that is causing your hunger. Junk food is great for occasional snacking but meeting nutritional needs leads to improved health and reduces the likelihood of developing or redeveloping an addiction to foods with low or no nutritional value.