CASWELL COUNTY, N.C. — We all know about the importance of maintaining a healthy diet.
It helps boost your energy, supports weight loss, and helps protect you against many diseases.
One type of diet, Cone Health providers say can be beneficial, is a plant-based diet.
A Caswell County woman knows about the diet all too well. Wanda Hammock experienced high cholesterol and knew she needed to change her eating habits.
She switched to a plant-based diet in 2022 after facing a diabetes diagnosis.
She says the switch to eating healthy happened gradually.
"It was difficult at first because it was changing my habit. I am a busy person so I was eating on the run a lot. I was eating a lot of convenience foods, hitting the drive-thru - that sort of thing. I had to change my habits to start doing more meal prep for when I would eat and where I would eat," Hammock said.
Hammock said she began to eat more salads and beans by eliminating fast foods and processed foods.
Because of the diet, her health has improved.
She is much more happy and has lost over 70 pounds in 13 months.
"My lab work is phenomenal at this point - when I started this," Hammock said.
Dr. Gebre Nida, a diabetologist with Cone Health, works with more than 200 patients benefiting from the diet.
He says 93% of people in the world are medically unhealthy and that the top five medical conditions including diabetes benefit from a whole food plant-based diet.
"Keep foods simple from the ground or from the farmer as much as possible, instead of from the factories," Nida said.
He said the diet can help your body fight inflammation, giving you a good medical advantage.