Amy Cramer - Seagan eating: the lure of a healthy, sustainable seafood + vegan diet

Y oud be hard-pressed to find a doctor who wouldnt tell you to eat more healthfullybut try finding one who can enable you to do so. That leaves patients to grapple with a dizzying array of tough choices and decisions on their own. Then theres the grocer who faces an ever-growing need to provide healthier options for customers. So when grocer and doctor team up, the result is superior sourcing and alternatives that are good for both people and the planet.

Our strategy is simple: Eat superfoods (nutrient-dense, calorie-sparse, plant-based, health-empowering whole foods), manage fats, get your dose of essential omega-3 fats, limit sugars, and know where your foods come from and how they were harvested (many practices are harmful to humans and the earth).

Should I eat meat? I usually get this question after a patient has had an epiphany following an illness. Their thought process is, Ive taken my health for granted and must now make healthier choices. Accordingly, diets laden with meat, dairy, and processed foods are suddenly replaced with low-fat, plant-based whole foods and other lifestyle changes. That drastic shift is usually never maintained, but equilibrium is eventually found.

Ive learned over the years that meeting people where theyre willing to be met is a good strategy. I start with the fact that those who eat less and do more live longer and more healthfully than those who overindulge and lead sedentary lives.

Data, such as that from the World Health Organization, now support the notion that processed meatsand likely even red meatcontribute to cancer, heart disease, and other ills.

After advising and helping people to eat less (strive for plant-based foods) and do more, I love watching their miraculous self-healing machinestheir bodiesregain vitality and health.

I wholeheartedly endorse any effort that connects individuals to their food supplyand this book will help readers on their respective journeys.

As my team and I work to ensure that the rapidly evolving needs of our customers are met, it becomes clear that everyone wants to eat better and nearly everyone is confused about how to go about it. This presents an unprecedented opportunity for the grocery store to provide relevant food and service solutions.

Some 2,400 years ago, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, said, Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. That message is resonating stronger than ever today, but its easier said than done. Theres a mind-boggling amount of informationand misinformationthat leaves consumers bewildered and frustrated. What should I eat? What should I not eat? How do I prepare it? Where should I buy it? Whats safeand whats not safe?

Enter Amy Cramer and Lisa McComsey with their newest book, Seagan Eating. They present a comprehensive approach to a healthier lifestyle through a seagan (seafood + vegan) diet and share tons of great tips for delicious, nutritious eating. It answers all the questions we get as grocers in a way that makes it easy to menu plan, shop, and prepare. Rest assured, a copy of Seagan Eating will be on our shelves to purchase and in the library of each of our stores.

Chris Foltz, chief operating officer, Heinens Grocery Store (heinens.com)

Todd Pesek, M.D., holistic physician and CEO of VitalHealth Partners (vitalhealthohio.com); chief medical officer of Heinens Grocery Store; and author of the bestselling book Eat Yourself Super... One Bite at a Time: A Superfoods Journey for the Happy, Healthy, and Hungry

CHAPTER 1

SEDUCED BY SEAFOOD

Some Will Say Were Sleeping with the Enemy

O thers will call it bait-and-switch. As authors of a how-to-go-vegan guide and cookbook, The Vegan Cheat Sheet, we know were taking a bit of a risk by admitting to this doozy of a no-no: cheating with seafood.

Both of us went vegan for health reasons, and we followed that regimen for many years. Now weve converted to a seagan (seafood + vegan) diet, also for health reasons. Plant-based foods still comprise the bulk of our daily diets and deliver nearly every nutrient our bodies crave. But, after doing tons of research, we decided that the high-quality, essential omega-3 fatty acids you can get only from fish were a missing linkand it was time to take the plunge.