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A city that is planning to be the healthiest city in Texas is looking to change they way they look at food to make heart disease and diabetes a thing of the past.
In Midland, Texas (17.6 % Latino) Midland Memorial Hospital (MMH) is one of only two hospitals in the country to be part of a special partnership with the creator of Plant Pure Nation, a documentary about the health benefits of being on a pure plant based diet.
The hospital has seen dramatic results in its patients who are going on this diet in regards to their health, where many patients have deterred their need for surgery or medications, just by changing their diets.
Dr. Gurru, a local physician at the hospital for over 15 years explained to local CBS 7 news, why the hospital is promoting this type of diet.
“It’s not a cure-all for everything but we’re talking about a lot more prevention. Minimize the risk of having these diseases. We as a nation are dealing with too many chronic diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, cancers. And by cutting down on these things [meat & dairy] we are minimizing the risk of having these diseases,” Gurru said.
According to research by doctors in the documentary Plant Pure Nation, eating mainly plant-based foods changes the average American diet and when combined with eating less processed foods and fast foods, can provide more nutrients, fiber and ability to prevent chronic diseases.
In fact, patient Terry Drummer went on the diet after a heart attack and not only ended up preventing his need to undergo heart surgery, but also went from taking 15 pills to four pills, he told West Texas Public Radio.
Marcy Madrid, MMH’s vice president of Planning and Marketing also made note that the hospital’s cafeteria has not only implemented plant-based choices in recommendations to patients but has also provided these healthier choices to visitors and staff in the hospital’s cafeteria while also removing frying machines and milkshake machines and promoting a large local garden on-site.
Hospitals like MMH, who make the healthy choice the easy choice continue to build a culture of health for Latinos, who often face higher risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain diet-related cancers.
To learn more about this healthy change, click here.
By The Numbers
1
Supermarket
for every Latino neighborhood, compared to 3 for every non-Latino neighborhood
