How do I become a Healthytarian?

You become a healthytarian by making lifestyle changes in your personal life to reflect the guidelines that healthytarian promotes. The term simply describes a certain way of living, thinking, and eating. There is no club to join, no test to pass, and no fee to pay. If you feel the guidelines shared on this site resonate with you, your way of thinking and interacting with yourself, others, and our Earth, then you may wish to use the term healthytarian to describe your lifestyle. Anyone who feels a resonance with the values shared here is free to call or refer to themselves as a healthytarian or as someone living the healthytarian lifestyle.

How can I connect with other Healthytarians?

Connection often grows naturally wherever people share an interest in this way of living. Some gather in small local circles, others find each other through online communities, and many simply begin by sharing what they’ve learned with friends, family, or neighbors. For those who resonate with the healthytarian guidelines, these connections can become a meaningful way to support one another and inspire positive change through optimal nutrition, a heart-centered perspective, and a mindful approach to life.

Our world is full of so many labels, isn’t Healthytarian just another fad label?

While it is true that many people define themselves by the numerous labels we have in our world today, the whole point of Healthytarian is to provide a term that encompasses a new and growing population of people who are interested in a deeper, more connected, and health-conscious way of life in terms of the mind, body, and spirit. The intention is not to give people another label for their ego to use for personal self-definition or to be limited by, but to provide a guiding term that best reflects their lifestyle choices.

Is the Healthytarian lifestyle the perfect way to eat and live?

There is no such thing as perfect; this is a variable term that greatly depends on the context and how each person defines perfection. The whole premise of choosing to follow a healthytarian lifestyle is knowing that we are constantly evolving, and everyone is at their own stage of personal and spiritual evolution. No single lifestyle will be the perfect fit for everyone’s needs. We need to stay mindful of our personal needs as we continue to evolve and respect others’ choices on their own journeys. Labeling something as perfect limits its infinite potential and continued evolution.

Does a Healthytarian lifestyle include living by strict rules and regulations?

No. A healthytarian chooses to eat and live based on Fresh Thinking, Smart Eating, and Mindful Living; they are not forced to. If a person sees the healthytarian lifestyle as “rule-based”, then it is not the right path for them. Healthytarian habits are felt, desired, and embraced, not any kind of obligation. So if the healthytarian lifestyle represents a person’s way of life, they choose to express and experience it based on their free will at any given time with respect to the choices they make. Although guidelines outline what a healthytarian lifestyle encompasses, each individual decides how best to apply them to benefit their mind, body, and spirit.

I see the terms “spirit” and “spiritual” mentioned in reference to the Healthytarian lifestyle. Does it have any religious basis?

No. The healthytarian lifestyle has no ties whatsoever to any man-made religion, religious belief system, or religious organization. The references to “spirit” and “spiritual” simply indicate that we recognize something bigger beyond the current physical form and reality. A healthytarian recognizes that we are spiritual beings, having a physical experience. Finally, nourishing the mind and body without acknowledging the needs of the soul and/or spirit leaves out a major aspect of our multidimensional nature.

Is the Healthytarian lifestyle backed by science?

The healthytarian lifestyle is first and foremost backed by each individual’s inherent knowing as they progress in their personal and spiritual evolution, of what is best for them at any given time as a human being, and what makes the most sense for human life on Earth. As for science, that depends on what science we are referring to. Most of what is called “science” today is nothing more than corporately driven, biased pseudo-science that survives based on misrepresented or falsified studies, conflicts of interest, politicization, and corruption. True science has shown many times over that plant-based eating, for example, which the healthytarian diet is based on, is beneficial for the healing and prevention of numerous conditions. Healthytarian is also inspired by quantum science, epigenetics, and integrative medicine that honors healing traditions like Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Herbalism, which are based on the Laws of Nature.

Is the Healthytarian lifestyle just another name for Vegan or Vegetarian?

No. The healthytarian lifestyle encompasses much more and is much broader than the terms vegan or vegetarian. While those terms focus mainly on not eating or using animal products, a healthytarian focuses on the holistic basis of our entire existence and takes into account healthy habits for the mind, body, and spirit. A vegan or vegetarian can easily eat a diet of processed plant foods while paying no attention to the quality of their thoughts, words, or actions in daily life, whereas a healthytarian considers each of those aspects and more.

Does a Healthytarian consume any animal foods, like meat, seafood, eggs, or dairy?

No. While some of these foods may be in the diet at first, as one transitions to healthytarian eating and living, the goal and intention are to remove them completely, as they are not aligned with optimal physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health. The more we become aware of the consequences of eating any animal products not just on our health, but on our environment, the animals, and the well-being of other people involved in producing and processing these foods, the less we are inclined to have any of these foods in our diet. While some will disagree based on their beliefs about animal foods, the fact is that humans can thrive on entirely plant-based diets when eating whole foods, a variety of foods, and under normal environmental conditions. (Extreme Arctic environments are not conducive to plant-based eating.) Hence, there is no need to participate (directly or indirectly) in the inhumane treatment, exploitation, and killing of animals and all the negative consequences associated with this industry.

Does a Healthytarian consume any grain products?

Yes, if they desire to eat grains, but not just any grain products. If you refer to the Smart Eating page, the nutrition guidelines for healthytarian living are based on the most natural, wholesome, and unprocessed nutrition. Common grain products that are refined and heavily processed, like conventional bread, bagels, cereals, pasta, cookies, cakes, and dough products, are not healthytarian food options. They are far from wholesome, are highly inflammatory and acid-forming, lack quality nutrients, and contain many harmful ingredients. The healthytarian lifestyle includes consuming grains that are real, whole, unrefined, minimally processed (or not processed at all), and soaked, sprouted, or fermented. Examples include brown rice, buckwheat, oats, barley, quinoa, teff grain, Kamut, amaranth, and sourdough or Ezekiel bread.

Does a Healthytarian consume any gluten?

This depends on each person’s health needs, as some people must avoid all or most gluten because of celiac disease or a gluten allergy. Generally, a healthytarian naturally minimizes gluten because they avoid eating a diet based on processed and refined grains. A healthytarian may want to avoid wheat products entirely because modern modifications, hybridization techniques, pesticides, and other chemical applications, like glyphosate, make wheat a controversial and risky food today. But how much gluten, if any, a healthytarian eats is entirely up to them.

Does a Healthytarian consume any sugar?

That depends on what sugar we are referring to. Today, the term sugar refers to many food products and compounds. It can refer to anything from the refined, common white crystals to the glucose molecule in our bloodstream. Per the Smart Eating guidelines, a healthytarian generally does not consume refined or processed foods, including refined sugars like white sugar, brown sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, regular corn syrup, commercial honey, and artificial sweeteners. Most, if not all, sugar consumed comes in whole-food form from natural, whole plant foods, namely fresh fruits.

Does a Healthytarian consume any coffee?

Generally, very little, if any at all. The healthytarian lifestyle is not aligned with the consumption of any addictive or harmful substances that can interfere with optimal physical and psychological health. If those adopting a healthytarian lifestyle choose to drink coffee, they would choose the purest, highest-quality option to maximize the medicinal benefits of the coffee bean, and they would use it as an infrequent or rare beverage, not a daily drink they depend on. Normally, a healthytarian has no need or desire to consume coffee regularly to improve energy levels, as their diet choices, thought patterns, and lifestyle habits naturally support optimal energy levels. There is no need to depend on any external substance that acts like a drug.

Does a Healthytarian consume any alcohol?

No. As mentioned above, the healthytarian lifestyle does not include the consumption of any addictive or harmful substances, especially ones like alcohol that depress the nervous system and degrade our consciousness. Alcohol is a known neurotoxin, carcinogen, and depressant. The healthytarian recognizes that for optimal clarity of the mind, conscious awareness, personal accountability, human potential, and mental function, no substances that interfere with these are conducive to one’s health and well-being.