By Carole Hamlin

I attended the wonderful annual conference of the National Health Association in Cleveland in June of this year. One of the speakers was a man named Tim Kaufman, whose talk was inspiring – and eye-opening for people who might not yet be convinced that a whole-foods, plant-based diet can be the way to health and a longer life. Tim’s website, www.fatmanrants.com, has a wealth of information about how his current lifestyle has changed everything about his life for the better.

In the past, Tim was a very unhappy man who had been chronically sick for years and addicted to alcohol, and also opioids and Fentanyl that doctors had prescribed. He weighed as much as 400 pounds. His wife was also overweight. But in January 2013 they started on a whole-foods, plant-based diet, and over time he was able to get his life back. Instead of spending time in a wheel chair and sitting most of the time, he is now able to be very active physically. He and his wife both are athletes in good enough shape to meet many physical challenges that would daunt most people. Tim competed at Ironman Lake Placid, a 140.6-mile triathlon, at the end of July.

Tim has said his discovery of a whole-foods, plant-based diet, which enabled him to lose the weight and be active physically, has totally turned his life around. Tim had to have some spine and ankle surgery a couple years ago, which temporarily affected his physical abilities, and he had to learn how to walk again last October. The doctors told him it could take a year, but he learned in just a few months. His choice to eat healthfully made his body able to heal much more quickly.

Tim is an amazingly accomplished person – teaching, doing community work, owning a restaurant, writing, publishing, etc. His is a moving, uplifting story.

I recommend taking a look at Tim’s website and seeing him speak at an event if you get the chance. The formerly unhappy man has become an enlightened person who can inspire others to take his advice about how to live better and longer. For a quick overview, you could watch his 12-1/2-minute video on his website called “My Plant-Based Journey.”