I just read Leslie Craine's Star McDougaller testimonial and she mentioned this forum so I wanted to add my not so dramatic experience.
I was in my mid 50s and just got the results of my physical. They were "perfect, perfect, and perfect." The next day my Dr called me to tell me that it looks like I had thyroid cancer and I should come back in a few weeks to have my thyroid removed!
After about twenty four hours of life changing roller coaster emotions, I got myself together and dug deep into what exactly I was told and went about arranging to get a second opinion. One thing I did "instinctively" was to decide while working through the second opinion process to just stop eating meat. I had no specific reason for doing this, just that I wanted to do something proactive and this felt right based upon the general knowledge I had. (I had listened to Dr McDougall's radio shows in Hawaii many years ago.)
After one week, while working out, I noticed that the pain in my back from my ankylosing spondylitis was missing. I recall rolling around on my back on my stretching mat to figure out where it had gone. I could feel nothing. No pain, anywhere.
After about two weeks I was again at the gym, in the break area, where they supply free coffee and tea. I realized that I had not drunk caffeine of any sorts for about two weeks. (By this time I had also cut out all dairy products after reading The China Study.) In fact I had no desire for coffee and I would normally drink coffee/cola every few days usually to power me through some work I needed to get done.
I realized that I had not had a "low energy" day or even a morning or afternoon for two weeks now. The thought of having coffee was uncomfortable - as if I already had had several cups and another would be too much. Until this moment I would have sworn that having "ups and downs" was just normal, everyone has them -- we all complain about them. I realized that my energy level, concentration, etc., had been rock solid for weeks now. This was almost unreal, kind of like being in a dream. I figured it wouldn't last.
I had always tried to keep myself in reasonable shape. I was never an athlete but I had gotten back into running in the last few years and I had worked up to running 5 miles a couple of times a week. I had had some knee issues, some lower back issues, and my spondylitis but I'd been able to work myself up to this distance. A few weeks before I had changed my diet, I had even decided to start training to run a half marathon in the Spring.
Early in the morning one day I was headed to take a shower when I stopped and thought "oops, I haven't run yet this morning." Quickly I realized I had just run 5 miles and had finished about 20 minutes ago. I wasn't tired. I didn't feel like I had just run 5 miles. I also realized that during my run I had been lost in thought the entire time. Normally, during the last few miles, it was a mental challenge to keep going. It just must have been a really good day, I thought. It turned out that every day I ran 5 miles now felt like this. It took me until I worked myself up to about 10 miles before it felt hard and then only because my knees and other connecting tissue were complaining. It appeared that I was now naturally "carbo loaded" and always ready to run a long distance. I now really appreciated the impact of diet on endurance running.
Normally when I got up in the morning I would feel kind of achy and stiff in my joints. Nothing significant and I would "warm up" within maybe a half hour or so. If I were to work at my desk intently for a few hours it was normal to notice that my legs/calfs would get real stiff. I recall walking up some steps after one of these intense sessions and noticing that it actually kind of hurt until I walked around for awhile. I just figured I was over 50, other people complain about stiffness, and so this was just me getting older.
Now when I wake up in the morning, there is no stiffness. None. I feel already warmed up. When I now stop working at my desk I can feel my calfs being very tight, but I then feel them immediately relax. No stiffness when walking.
Wow. All this has continued to be true for almost 18 months now. Just by changing my diet? I feel as good as I did 20 years ago. As to having a rock solid energy level this is probably the best I've ever felt in my life.
Somedays I just feel dumb for not figuring this out decades ago. I'm thankful for people like Dr John McDougall and Dr T. Colin Campbell who help to get this information out there against some pretty stiff resistance. I'm grateful for all those people who for decades have asked for more whole grain plant based (or at least non-meat) options so I can now readily find appropriate foods at the store and in restaurants. I'm also grateful for my Dr whose diagnosis of "suspicious of cancer" drove me to rethink what I thought I knew about what I eat.
Bruce
. So with the odds in my favor I decided to only monitor the thyroid (option 4 of the American Thyroid Association ATA recommended courses of action). 
