VBC: Tell me briefly about your history as a vegetarian/vegan.

Dr.Heidrich: I've been vegan for 21 years now, and raw for the last 4 years. The reason I changed to a vegan, low-fat diet was that I was diagnosed with an advanced case of breast cancer and Dr. John McDougall was doing clinical research in that area. I volunteered to be a subject in his study which required that I adhere to an all-plant food diet with no oils plus agree to no chemo or radiation so that a positive result would be attributed to the diet and not the chemo or radiation. I think it's safe to say that it worked!

Like most people these days you came to a plant-based diet as an adult. What are your feelings about children and vegetarianism?

An all-plant food diet is best for all humans after weaning. There is evidence that feeding children animal foods initiates the formation of plaque and arteriosclerosis in children as young as two years of age. It can be severe by the time they reach their late teen-age years, and by adulthood, common throughout the population.

Do you have friends/relatives who are raising vegetarian children?

Yes, and the one I know best is an 18-year-old who has been raised vegan. I watched him grow up from the time he was weaned to now as a freshman in college.

How have they shaped your understanding of a plant-based lifestyle?

They are living proof that plant foods provide all the nutrients we humans need.

You have a strong focus in your work on using the vegan diet to cure illness. Have you or the people you're helping found it difficult to find people in the medical profession to support your nutritional approach to treatment?

Yes, it seems that most medical doctors remain committed to what they were taught in med school, and that is, that the Standard American Diet is completely adequate, that their job as doctors is to diagnose and treat, and rarely do they think of prevention or reversal through a change in diet. Most doctors that I've talked to say that they don't have time to talk to patients about their eating habits, and they believe that patients probably wouldn't change anyway.

Have you worked with any children/young people using this approach?

Only in giving support to moms and kids and in speaking to kids in school presentations.

I understand you follow a predominantly raw food diet, do you think such a diet is appropriate for all ages?

My two kids were fully grown and out of the house when I changed to a vegan diet, but if I had known, I certainly would have raised them to be vegan. In terms of raw, I think that with lots of fruits and vegetables they certainly could not have been missing any nutrients as long as I included a source of B-12.

What do you eat in a typical day?

My main focus is on leafy greens for the two meals I eat daily. On top of the greens, for the morning meal, it's carrot, celery, mango, banana, blackstrap molasses, and nutritional yeast with B-12. For the evening meal, it's more greens, carrots plus tomato, broccoli, celery, cabbage, garlic, salsa as a dressing plus some ground flaxseed. Dessert is a large bowl of berries with just a few walnuts. Snacks consist of carrots, apples, and popcorn.

Do you have any favorite recipes you'd like to share with us?

I have a Cook/Rawbook which, of course, I'd love everybody to buy but I can really sum it up with the following: buy lots of greens, veggies, and fruit, bring home, wash, and serve! But then I'm a very practical person who would much rather be running, biking, and swimming than spending time in the kitchen. This way of eating allows me maximum time for exercise and doing everything else.