How an Unconventional Diet Changed Her Life

Senior Fitness, like so much of everything in life is a matter of degrees.  One person’s level of physical fitness could be way short or far beyond another person’s.   You need to determine your own fitness level based on your own values and the advice of your doctor.  Seventy eight year old Ruth Heidrich of Hawaii,  has set her level of fitness probably far beyond most people but her story of why and how is a lesson we can learn from.

Ruth is a lifelong fitness buff and athlete competing at the highest levels of track and field. But back when she was just 47 she learned some shocking news.  She tells the story.  “Being a marathoner and then finding out, after 14 year of running and being really fit, to find out that I have breast cancer. Then it’s getting over the shock of that and getting ready for chemo and radiation.”  Immediately after that diagnosis, her time was spent meeting with doctors and receiving mounds of advice.  But one message stood out from the others.

It was unconventional advice, coming from Dr. John McDougal who advised her to eschew conventional wisdom and become a vegan.  Of course that meant major shift in diet, abstaining from eating all animal products.  “My arthritis disappeared, my acne disappeared, my energy levels went higher,” says Ruth.

As a person who epitomized senior fitness, Ruth found her new diet and outlook on life had a direct impact on her passion for peak performance.  “I took 45 minutes off my next marathon after the change in diet, after the diagnosis of breast cancer, and surgery to remove cancer.  Within weeks everything normalized. Literally – the bones scans, all the hot spots on the bone scans started fading, my liver enzymes normalized. And that tumor in my lung encapsulated, and they keep following it and it has not grown a bit,” says Ruth

Dr. Ruth Heindrich’s book “Senior Fitness – The diet and exercises for maximum health and longevity “ demonstrates that: “ The senior years don’t have to be filled with aches and pains.” she says. And then she goes on to show how to dramatically reduce the risk of prostate cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, cardio vascular disease, arthritis, Alzheimer and a host of other ailments and diseases that she says can affect older people.

At 78, Ruth is a great example for senior fitness.  Everyday, her workout includes riding a bike, swimming and running.

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