Paul was born in Detroit and has lived in West Bloomfield since 1971. In May of 2013, he was diagnosed with heart disease. His cardiologist gave him two options: bypass surgery or try “plant-based nutrition” (PBN). After meeting with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, he decided to try plant-based nutrition. After just 3 weeks his heart pain disappeared, cholesterol levels dropped from 350 to 88 and lost 75 pounds.
He felt great! Paul promised himself that when he felt better he would put together a support group to help others in our community. He contacted Dr. Joel Kahn, who agreed to assist him on the journey. In February of 2014, he held his first plant-based Nutrition Support Group (PBNSG) meeting and 123 people attended! Today PBNSG has 7,400 members and over 100 volunteers.
They have started many outreach programs and have relationships with the owners of 30 local restaurants. PBNSG has completed work on a curriculum change with Medical Students at Wayne State, Eastern Michigan, Oakland, Michigan State, and the University of Michigan medical school. They held classes for local doctors to learn about the benefits of nutrition before pills or procedures, called Doctors Teaching Doctors, and received a sponsorship from Henry Ford Health Systems. PBNSG has over 54 small groups.
A small group is where like-minded friends get together at a host’s house to talk about WFPB without judgment. In 2020 PBNSG will be holding over 46 health and culinary education classes. We just finished an 80+ page manual, called “A Gurney Promise,” which helps people around the world start their own plant-based Nutrition Support Group. PBNSG also created a whole food plant-based no oil cookbook called, “Perfectly Plant Based.” For more information about PBNSG please go to www.pbnsg.org.
