Vegan Seniors Unite

November 11, 2024 

Food & Joint Health

Dr. Esser is a physician, author and motivational speaker specializing in lifestyle modification and sports medicine. He is dedicated to empowering individuals to achieve their best health and maximize fitness, fun and function. He recently spoke at the National Health Association (NHA) conference. He will motivate, educate and encourage you to achieve your best health!

You may wish to stay for an educational program at Esser’s Ranch in Florida. Stay and let the chaos and stress of life fade away. Re-discover what “healthy” feels like and take time to develop a plan to maximize your health for years to come.

Dr. Esser completed a Bachelor of Science at Palm Beach Atlantic University, Medical School at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, a residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School/Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and a Fellowship in Sports Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. He currently works as the Sports & Spine Physician with Heekin Orthopedics in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Prior to his career in medicine he was a competitive tennis player, achieving a ranking of #1 in the US in Men’s Open Doubles (2002).

September 8, 2024 

Saving Our Planet — A Grandfather’s Pinky Promise

Dr. Rao is the Founder and Executive Director of Climate Healers at ClimateHealers.org. He is also a Human, Earth, and Animal Liberation (HEAL) activist, husband, dad, and since 2010, a star-struck grandfather. He has promised his granddaughter, Kimaya, that the world will be largely Vegan before she turns 16 in 2026 so that people will stop eating her relatives, the animals. He has faith that humanity will transform to keep his pinky promise to Kimaya, not just for ethical reasons, but also out of sheer ecological necessity. He has created a Climate Bathtub model to help humanity understand the systems solution space for reversing climate change and enabling a thriving planet.

Dr. Rao is an environmentalist by occupation and a systems engineer by profession, with a Ph.D. from the Information Systems Laboratory (ISL), Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA in 1986. He invented the protocol for transforming early analog internet connections into more robust digital connections while accelerating their speed ten-fold. Still today, any data accessed on the internet is likely passed through a device implementing this protocol.

August 11, 2024 

Eating for Brain Health: How to Get Started

Sociologist Denise Rose is an enthusiastic educator who has been teaching WFPB nutrition classes for several years. She also has a YouTube channel with her husband called Happy Vegan Couple. On their YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@happyvegancouple, they post WFPB cooking videos to help plant-based eaters learn how to cook delicious, healthy foods in their own kitchens; Denise also shares interviews with people who have transitioned to a plant-based lifestyle and received major health benefits due to their dietary change.

In this presentation, you will discover what optimal foods evidence-based research suggests you eat every day to strive for brain health. Based on the nutrition advocacy of neurologists, Drs. Ayesha & Dean Sherzai, their second book, "The 30-Day Alzheimer's Solution," published in 2021, advocates eating a whole food, plant-based diet (WFPB) to offer the most protection against Alzheimer's and other diseases.

Member of Vegan Seniors Unite and sociologist, Denise Rose (Ph.D.) will present this talk explaining what these foods are, what serving sizes you should consume daily, and how to make meals out of these brain-nourishing foods. This class is valuable for anyone wanting to prevent and halt brain diseases via lifestyle choices and those new to whole food, and vegan plant-based eating.

July 14, 2024

Soymilk, Tofu, and Okara

There are many benefits to making your own soymilk and tofu. I will provide a series of slides to explain how to make soymilk from two ingredients: dry, organic soybeans and filtered water. Add just one more ingredient to make tofu. Okara is a wonderful byproduct.

Michael Barth is a member of Vegan Seniors Unite and a long-time WFPB vegan. Inspired by being surrounded by thousands of vegans on cruises, he actively pursues the development of an all-vegan community. 

June 9, 2024

Brain Building & Cognitive Functioning, the Importance of Balance Training

Lifestyle Enhancement Consultant John Pierre, or JP, is the co-founder of Living With Harmony (LWH), along with Andrea Rose. He travels extensively around the country lecturing about the concept of Ahimsa, the powers of  plant-based eating, health and fitness and other humanitarian efforts. For those of you in our community who don’t know him and haven’t had the privilege of seeing his lectures, click here to see his interview to introduce you in more depth to the work that he does and how that is greatly impacting the vision he has for the future.

JP's forte is working with Seniors. We are lucky to have him talk to us about brain building and cognitive functioning along with the importance of balance training. Nutrition and fitness consultant John Pierre has trained hard-core athletes, Hollywood celebrities, rock-stars, and
Fortune 500 executives.

Assisting a wide range of clientele and people of all backgrounds and fitness levels, John’s passion is to help everyone. Credited as being one of the first pioneers in the U.S. to create “brain-building” classes that enhance cognitive fitness in our geriatrics community, 38 years of experience has provided John with a unique understanding and ability to help others with cognitive challenges.

John Pierre has been inducted into the North American Vegetarian Society Hall of Fame, and continues to contribute widely to magazines and publications in the area of health and fitness. John is also the author of several books, including: The Pillars of Health, and Strong, Savvy, Safe, available at www.johnpierre.com, and has starred in numerous health-promoting DVDs and online programs that reach countless individuals all over the world. He is also the co-founder of Living With Harmony, a nonprofit organization — livingwithharmony.org. 

Check out his web site at https://www.johnpierre.com/

In today’s fast-paced and isolating culture, there is a tremendous need to heal, connect, and grow.

Living With Harmony embodies a sincere effort to meet that ever-growing need, and to heal, inspire and transform the lives of people, animals, and the planet, through the education of “PLANET-Based Living.”

Together we can create a more harmonious life through a conscious way of living, and connecting with animals and nature.

May 19, 2024

How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life

Clare Mann, a member of Vegan Seniors Unite (VSU) has been vegan for 16 years. She is a vegan psychologist, existential psychotherapist, author of many books and programs, and communications trainer. She originally trained as an organizational psychologist, held a number of lectureships in universities around the world and has worked in both private and public sectors as a leadership trainer.

Clare’s work now focuses on providing vegans, animal advocates and worldwide animal protection agencies with tools to live in this “not-yet” vegan world, so they can communicate the imperative of veganism more effectively.

Clare coined the word Vystopia and wrote the definitive text Vystopia: The Anguish of Being Vegan in a Non Vegan World. Her work now focuses on helping vegans transform their anguish into powerful action for change. She runs several programs to empower vegans distraught by the “Burden of Knowing” to become powerful advocates for change and periodically runs a FREE 3-Day Vystopia Recovery Program. You can join the waitlist for the next event.

VeganPsychologist.com/master-class-waitlist/

Her talk for VSU focused on how “Vegan seniors can not only make the rest of their lives the best of their lives,” but assisted young people in developing a passion and means to be part of creating a more compassionate world.

April 14, 2024

Advice From a Vegan Cardiologist

"There are two kinds of Cardiologists: vegan and those who haven't read the data."

Dr. Kim Allan Williams, Sr., a vegan for over 21 years is the Endowed Professor of Health Equity and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Louisville (UofL).

Dr. Williams originates from the South Side of Chicago and transitioned from the inner-city Chicago Public Schools to the College of the University of Chicago (UC), where he majored in biology (AB’75). He earned four Maroon varsity tennis letters, playing number one singles for his last three years, and subsequently taught and played tennis professionally. He trained at UC’s Pritzker School of Medicine (MD’79), internal medicine at Emory University (1979-82), and back to UC for Cardiology (1982-85), Clinical Pharmacology (1984-85), and Nuclear Medicine (1984-86). He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Cardiology, and Cardiovascular Computed Tomography.

He began his academic leadership as UC faculty (1986) and was promoted to Professor of Medicine and Radiology in 2003. He became the Dorothy Susan Timmis Professor and Chief, Division of Cardiology at Wayne State University in 2010, and was the James B. Herrick Professor and Chief of Cardiology at Rush University (2013-22). He also served as Rush’s Associate Dean for Faculty Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (2020-22) until his appointment as Chairman of Medicine at UofL in 2022.

He has served as President of the American College of Cardiology and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC), and as Chairman of the Board of the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC). His career has focused on advocacy for national nutrition education, eradication of national and international health care disparities, improved healthcare access, overall health system reform, sustainable health care financing and increased access to advanced cardiac imaging. Dr. Williams has been a delegate for cardiology to the AMA for over 20 years and has served as a consultant for the FDA and CMS. He is active on the Task Force advising the 2022 White House Conference on Nutrition, Health, and Hunger.

He was the founder of the Urban Cardiology Initiative in Detroit, Michigan, aiming to reduce ethnic heart care disparities, and continued these community-based efforts in Chicago at Rush, including the H.E.A.R.T. program (Helping Everyone Assess Risk Today), screening for heart disease, intervening with education, nutrition, and lifestyle changes. At University of Louisville, he transitioned the H.E.A.R.T. program to include diagnostic testing for risk assessment (Helping Everyone Address Risk Today).

He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention (https://ijdrp.org/index.php/ijdrp). He is an internationally recognized author and speaker with over 1300 original research manuscripts, book chapters, editorial and guideline publications, online resources, movies, and lectures, most recently on the topics of cardionutrition and health equity.

He has been perennially named in America’s Top Doctors and has received multiple national and international awards including lifetime achievement recognition from ABC (Daniel D. Savage Award), ASNC (Mario Verani Lecturer), National Lipid Association (Lifetime Membership Award), the German Cardiac Society (Gold Key Recipient and Keynote Lecturer) and the Australia New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine for over 20 consecutive years of Keynote Lectures (2002 to 2022).

March 10, 2024 

Plant-based Nutrition Essentials for Older Adults

Brenda Davis, registered dietitian, is a plant-based trailblazer and an internationally 

acclaimed speaker.

Brenda has been a featured speaker at medical, nutrition, and dietetic conferences in 25 countries on 6 continents. As a prolific nutrition writer, Brenda has authored/co-authored 13 books with nearly a million copies in print in 12 languages. Her latest book, Plant-Powered Protein, was released in 2023. Brenda has also authored and co-authored numerous professional and lay articles and is a past chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She was the lead dietitian in a diabetes intervention research project in the Marshall Islands. Brenda was the 7th recipient of the Plantrician Project’s Luminary Award in 2022 and was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame in 2007. She lives in Calgary Alberta Canada with her husband and has 2 grown children and 3 grandchildren.

February 18, 2024

The Arrest and Reversal of Cardiovascular Disease with Nutrition: Fact or Fiction?

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. for men and women. But, as Dr. Esselstyn, internationally renowned surgeon, researcher and clinician at the Cleveland Clinic, explains in this lecture, it can actually be prevented, reversed and even abolished. Dr. Esselstyn argues that conventional cardiology has failed patients by developing treatments that focus only on the symptoms of heart disease, not the cause. Based on the groundbreaking results of his 20-year nutritional study, he explains how we can end the heart disease epidemic in the country by changing what we eat. 

January 26, 2024

How Not to Age

A founding member and Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Michael Greger, M.D., is a physician and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition. His science-based nonprofit, NutritionFacts.org, offers a free online portal hosting more than 2,000 videos and articles on myriad health topics.

Dr. Greger is a sought-after lecturer and has presented at the Conference on World Affairs and the World Bank, testified before Congress, and was invited as an expert witness in Oprah Winfrey’s defense in the infamous “meat defamation” trial. A graduate of Cornell University School of Agriculture and Tufts University School of Medicine.

Dr. Greger is also an acclaimed author. How Not to Die, The How Not to Die Cookbook, and How Not to Diet became instant New York Times Best Sellers. More than a million copies of How Not to Die have been sold. All proceeds Dr. Greger receives from the sales of his books and speaking honoraria are donated directly to charity.

December 10, 2023

Environmental Toxins in Our Personal & Cleaning Products & Their Impact on You

Jeanne has earned her doctorate in science and education and has taught for over 35+ years. She is a firm believer in “walking the walk.” She is committed to inspiring people to change their health destiny through a non-toxic whole-foods, plant-based lifestyle. She is passionate about making a difference in the lives of others by teaching practical ways to improve their health. She believes that food is our best medicine and helps us get our bodies back to a state of health when faced with “dis”-ease. She has been sharing her knowledge through motivational and educational lectures as well as on her website (SimplyPlantBased.net).

In 2022, Dr. Schumacher launched The Plant Based Academy, to help provide education, support and guidance to people who want to live a whole food plant based lifestyle (PlantBasedAcademy.net).

Also in 2022, she has launched Plant Based Cape Cod (PlantbasedCapeCod.net) to help people who want to visit Cape Cod that are plant based.

November 12, 2023

Let's Talk About Desire

Esther Lebec Loveridge is extremely warm and down to earth, and a popular follower of John  McDougall‘s Program for Maximum Weight Loss, a whole-food plant-based way of eating, which she began at the age of 72 to deal with her food, addiction, obesity and damaged knees, so she could be approved for knee surgery and continue traveling. She has stayed with that program to this day relying on lots of starchy vegetables and simple whole plant foods. By age 75 she had lost 130 pounds and was able to get off her five medications and reverse her pre-diabetes. She also experienced no more diverticulitis, GERD or constipation. And perhaps most amazingly, she no longer needed the knee replacement surgery.

Esther will turn 80 years young in October, and is married to Ben, whom she met by frequenting his donut shop in the late 1980s! Many years after they were married, when Esther decided to make dramatic changes, Ben was doubtful he could follow, but he eventually embraced the lifestyle too nd reaped the benefits himself. They are now one happy, healthy, young-at-heart Senior couple, living life to the fullest with the message that it is never too late to improve your health! Esther is the author of the book, From Donuts to Potatoes: My 366-day Journey on a Plant-Based Diet, released in 2020. She has been featured in Women’s World magazine, she overseas Esther's Nutritional Journey Support Group, and is extremely generous, with wisdom and encouragement to others.

October 8, 2023

Being Fit and Healthy at 73!

Isn’t it true that a healthy outside starts from the inside?

Elizabeth Mansur says it’s very true. She will share her tips on healthy living from her ample supply of plant food recipes that you can have access to by joining her private Facebook group “Plant-Food Kitchen.” We are lucky that she’s also going to make us one of her many homemade recipes! Recipe provided below.

Elizabeth has been featured on Chef AJ (one of our previous speakers) since 2020 and thereafter. She’s also been on UnchainTV segment “Lunch Break Live.“

She is active and learned the art of vegan cooking back in 2017 by Rueb Culinary School. She is involved in her community and hosts small group cooking classes from her home in San Diego. Her Vegan Dining Out group is going on eight years!

She loves animals and adopted her rescued dog Lucy.

Elizabeth has recently co-authored, with her kitchen buddy Lo, a fully photographed e-book featuring a selection of their internationally inspired recipes. All are 100% plant-based, and all accommodating a gluten-free diet. They are thrilled to share this book with you.

“The Vegan Kitchen Companion” ebook can be purchased for $12.99.

Visit her YouTube Channel here.

Seaweed Noodles Thai Salad — Quick and easy!

2 Medium-size Carrots, thinly sliced
1 Red or Yellow Pepper, thinly sliced
1 Lg wedge Red Cabbage, thinly sliced
Handful of parsley, chopped
1 package-ready seaweed (kelp) was my choice, rinsed well
1-2 scallions or chives chopped
Fresh handful bean sprouts, (optional)
1/4 cup crushed peanuts or sesame seeds

Dressing
1 tsp Tamarin
2/3 cup Liquid Aminos or Tamari
3 tsp date syrup, or rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, grated
1/2 tsp Chili or Sriracha
1/2 -1 fresh squeezed lime juice

Directions
Whisk dressing well and set aside.
Serving suggestion: In a bowl, add one serving of the chopped veggies; add a portion of seaweed noodles (rinsed well). Add your desired amount of dressing, mix well and top with chopped peanuts or sesame seeds. Bon Appétit!

See Celebratiing Elizabeth's  74th Birthday with Chef AJ  (June 6, 2024)

September 10, 2023

It Is Never Too Late to Start Plant-Based

At the age of 80, Al Schmidt had End Stage Coronary Artery Disease and was a Cardiac Cripple, along with a host of other infirmaries. He overcame heart disease, high cholesterol, poor kidney function, and lost some weight. He went from being unable to climb stairs, to hiking at 11,000 feet altitude as well as riding e-bikes 15-20 miles.

He has told his incredible story several times at Renaissance Society at Sacramento State, Sacramento VegFest, Kaiser, SOS radio show KVMR and Chef AJ’s podcast. He was Featured on T. Colin Campbell’s Center for Nutrition Studies and Tami Kramer’s Nutmeg Notebook.

His most important presentation was in November 2019 in front of just 4 people. The results of that presentation were phenomenal and now his talks reach 30,000 or more.

You can find more information at StayingAliveWFPB.com. It has resources to help those interested in changing their lifestyle, including his contact information. He has received over 200 emails and answered every one. His lighthearted speaking, and amazing results will inspire and motivate you. He quips, “Well, at least it will keep you awake.” 

July 9, 2023

Why it’s Never too Late to be Fit & Compassionate

Linda Middlesworth is a dynamo for the animals, health and the environment!

Linda is alive today only because someone told her about Dr. John McDougall 35 years ago. He saved her life. She had cancer, severe heart disease, over 50 lbs. extra, and pre-diabetes even though she was then teaching over 20 classes a week of aerobics and weight training. With his information, she lost all her health issues within a few of months and then went on to become a VeganMentor health coach, a Food for Life Nutrition and Cooking Instructor, an animal rights activist, an event planner and an organizer of Sacramento Vegan Society with 5,190 members. 

Linda still teaches aerobics and weight training at the gym. She gives talks all over online and in person. She co-founded V-Dog.com vegan dog food in 2005.