Monday, June 4, 2012

Three Helpings of Broccoli and 192 Miles


At my college reunion this weekend, I attended a talk entitled "Preventing Cancer." The presenter, a fellow Colgate alumni, went into great detail on the causes of cancer and the various tactics to keep it at bay. I'll save you from the technical details.

In summary, to prevent cancer, you can ride 192 miles every August and raise money for the Dana Farber Institute, as I do. This year will be my fifteenth year riding in the Pan Mass Challenge, cycling from Sturbridge to Provincetown over two days and raising $35 million for cancer research. This year I have personally committed to raising more than $6,000, and have set a personal best goal of raising $10,000.

Or, you can donate money on behalf of someone who does the ride...and eat three helpings of broccoli every week.

It's quite surprising how much of an impact diet, exercise and mental well-being can have on overall health. I'm now in the middle of "The China Study," a book that summarizes extensive, multiyear studies of the effect of diet on health, and the findings are pretty astonishing. This research strongly suggests that plant-based diets significantly reduce the likelihood of many illnesses and diseases.

But I'm not suggesting that you go this far. Why don't you start with three helpings of broccoli each week? Steamed, sauted, raw, however you like it (just not microwaved). Note -- other vegetables have similar positive effects!

And donate $50, $100 or $200 to the Dana Farber Institute, one of the premier cancer research organizations in the country. Fully 100% of all donations go directly to the Dana, to fund cancer research. And that research is desperately needed...while eating broccoli may be helpful, we still don't know the causes and cures of many types of cancers.

I'm now in training for the 192 mile ride...and need your help in making this a successful event. Together we can make a difference.

To donate, please visit:

https://www.pmc.org/egifts/MakeADonation.asp?eGiftID=LL0033

And eat your broccoli!

Thanks,

Lee