By Scott L. Miley
The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON, Ind. —
Dave Mowrey’s switch from meat-eater to vegan was so life changing that he wrote a letter about it.
Mowrey, a retired GM worker who is a volunteer firefighter in Daleville, had been losing weight as part of the Coronary Health Improvement Project. The loss was temporary. He went to a gastroenterologist who diagnosed him with a liver condition known as NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) which could have required a transplant.
By chance, public safety workers are encouraged to register for the annual Heartland and Health Wellness Conference held in Anderson. The conference will be held Sept. 16-17 at Reardon Auditorium at Anderson University. A free speech will be delivered at 7 p.m. on Sept. 16 by Dr. Hans Diehl who will discuss healthier lifestyles.
Mowrey and his wife, Florence, attended the conference, learning an entirely new lifestyle that focused on becoming a vegan and avoiding foods with animal protein.
“Learn we did,” he wrote in a letter to conference organizers.
“I learned to choose wisely when I picked up food for work — honey mustard rather than ranch, leave off the meat, pick off most of the cheese if I had to get a pre-made salad, etc. By Thanksgiving I had lost 21 pounds and my wife had lost 5 pounds. I feel good now, more energy,” wrote Mowrey, 60, who is a heat plant operator at Ball State University. His weight is down to about 200 pounds from 225.
“We are not fanatical about animal protein, just careful: some products will have egg in them, some will have dried milk products. At home, we cook/bake with almond milk, use legumes, whole grains, and avoid high fructose corn syrup.”
The letter is valuable to Susan Landess, Indiana Healthy Choices director and one of the conference organizers.
“He listened and heard he needed to make some changes. That makes us feel it is worthwhile, when you have those kind of stories,” said Landess. “There are people who come into a one-day conference and make some lifestyle changes and the disease process will start reversing itself.”
Contact Scott L. Miley, 648-4230, scott.miley@heraldbulletin.com
