My Journey into Plant-Based Living

To be honest, I stumbled onto this whole new way of thinking. Looking back, I am unbelievably grateful for the chain of events that derailed me from my routine track of familiar habits and catapulted me off into exciting new territory. Throughout the past nine years of this journey, I have been reading voraciously and studying the absolutely huge volume of evidence–based data that supports the plant-based lifestyle.

We are all linked by concerns about our personal health and our quality of life into our senior years. We also yearn to provide our children with a balanced, nutritious diet so that they can live a long and healthy life and not be burdened by obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and all the other chronic diseases associated with our affluent Western lifestyle. There is much confusion surrounding the most advantageous food choices for our overall health. Much of this controversy has been created by poorly designed and misinterpreted scientific studies. I have been a practicing pharmacist for forty years and have been able to observe the world of medicine and its treatments from a unique vantage point. With my science-based background I felt astonishment as I began to learn about the research into eating and health. Why was this not common knowledge? The research is not all brand new, although there are a plethora of studies coming to light almost daily. The study of foods and their effects on human health goes back more than fifty years. It seems to me that there is a disconnect between the facts that nutritional science considers validated and those in common knowledge. The “facts” that the media reveal fluctuate so wildly that people tend to just ignore the latest “breakthrough” and just eat the way they have always eaten.

At this point in my life I am embarking on the new stage known as “retirement”. With this new beginning I have a goal of consolidating and organizing this nutritional knowledge for myself, complete with corroborating scientific research. I feel that if people could only understand how the simple step of eating to truly nurture the body can be life altering, they would be more willing to give it a try. I am making this objective of mine available to anyone who cares to read this blog in the hopes that the foundation of evidence-based science helps clarify the bewildering assortment of conflicting information that we are encountering in our daily lives.

I hope to add a new (and short) chapter to this story once or twice a week so stay tuned… it is my hope that you can find something in this website to enrich your journey into a future of robust health.

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Promoting a healthy adventurous lifestyle powered by plants and the strength of scientific evidence.

My name is Debra Harley (BScPhm) and I welcome you to my retirement project, this website. Over the course of a life many lessons are learned, altering deeply-rooted ideas and creating new passions.

10 Comments

  1. Susan Rees on June 20, 2017 at 11:03 am

    Deb we’ve been waiting with keen anticipation for the website to go live. I’m especially looking forward to your fabulous recipes and the insights that you generously share. We’ve benefited from your wisdom and inspiration over the years and am happy that others who haven’t been fortunate to know you personally will now be able to access your offerings from around the world!

    • Deb on June 20, 2017 at 11:38 am

      Thanks for you generous comments Sue. I’m looking forward to sharing this with you.

  2. Trevor Harley on June 20, 2017 at 10:57 am

    Looks great Mom!

    • Deb on June 20, 2017 at 11:38 am

      Thanks Trev.

  3. Maureen Schuh on June 20, 2017 at 7:20 am

    This another wonderful adventure.? As life long learners it is so exciting to look at new possibilities. You have always had words of wisdom over the years. Congratulations and looking forward to following and being part of this journey too. ?

    • Deb on June 20, 2017 at 9:37 am

      Thanks Maureen. Glad to have you along!

  4. Pamela Donnan on June 20, 2017 at 5:23 am

    Look forward to following you Deb both on my bike and with this blog. You’re always an inspiration. Congratulations on this new adventure.

    • Deb on June 20, 2017 at 9:36 am

      Thanks Pam. See you soon.

  5. Tracey on June 19, 2017 at 10:43 pm

    This is a terrific venture Deb!
    Congratulations on your retirement and all the best to you during this new journey.
    Looking forward to reading upcoming posts.
    Here’s to life-long learning and many cycling adventures yet to come.
    Cheers!

    • Deb on June 20, 2017 at 9:20 am

      Thanks, Tracey. Looking forward to our upcoming adventure together!

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