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Okay, clearly that post didn't work. Internet issues. Let's try again:

Hey Kind Lifers!

A bit of background: my dad is overweight and has horrible sleep apnea among a host of other problems. Recently, he went to a sleep clinic, and they suggested that he use a CPAP machine in order to breath normally at night. Horrified by the thought of my poor mom having to sleep next to a husband hooked up to a machine every night, I suggested to my mom that he try eating 'superhero' for a while, since I truly believe this would make a tremendous change for him. I tried to make it sound appealing - vibrant greens, nutty and complex grains, and delicious vegetables - but no luck. She said he would rather sleep hooked to a machine than change his diet.

I'm a bit discouraged about this, but I'm going to visit in January, and my plan is to "accidentally" leave some books lying around that could educate him on the reasons to switch to a vegan diet from a health basis. He's a smart man and I think he would be willing to change if it were his own idea, so I think the book strategy is a good one.

Having been a long-term vegetarian myself (and receiving plenty of crap about it from my dad over the years!), I haven't felt a huge need to seek out books like this since I was convinced long ago. So my question is: what are some good resources that you've found to help convince you to switch to a vegan diet? He doesn't care about animals or the environment... I think health is the big thing. I'm looking for simple, easy access books that really opened your eyes to the humongous but basic truth. So far, my ideas are The China Study and perhaps something by Dr. Dean Ornish? Manly man that he is, he would never open a book that had Alicia Silverstone plus the word "Diet" on the cover. :)

Any suggestions?

Hello kim..

Your father like to eat the real stuff i guess... you can try a receipe i have added on my page..

the meat eaters won't even know there is no fat or meat in it.... and it fills your stamach easily ,so the hunger will be gone for some time... The dish is even to prapare with low fat beef if necessary.. but drop me a line and tell me more about your fathers eating pattern.. what he likes mostly,so i can give you recipes conforming your fathers taste.. so we keep the taste with the healthy foods ,but not with fat meat..have a pleasant day.,. greetings from Holland.. mike

I've had some of the same issues. My dad is diabetic and has had quadruple bypass surgery. He was an Atkins diet follower for years. He happily eats vegan when we cook for him, but I think it's just because he's trying to please us. My mom has had little luck in getting him to even lower the amount of meat he eats as she's tried to move towards a more veggie friendly diet. The issue is, if your dad is like my dad, I doubt he'd read the books even if I left them around. We're focusing more on my mom as she does the cooking....

Good luck. I'd love to hear from anyone that's had success in getting a parent to make the switch or even make a substantial change in diet. Dad's diet has been an issue in our family my entire life, so I'm not optimistic....

Engine 2 is good, especially for men. There's a site, too:

http://engine2diet.com/

I've seen Rip Esselstyn talk and what was really telling was that he said the majority of calls the fire department got were for heart attacks, large men who had heart attacks.

I like the Engine 2 because he does things without oil, at all, and low sodium and stuff. There are some good recipes, too.

One thing, if your dad does change, which would be sooo good for his health, maybe you can introduce more whole foods recipes. The single negative about Engine 2 is that the entrees rely heavily on processed soy. But, still better than eating a bunch of animal products.