CLINTON CHANGES HIS DIET
When
Bill Clinton invited me to lunch in May, I knew better than to expect fried
catfish
or barbecued ribs. The former president is now a devoted
vegan, meaning no meat, fish or dairy
products and he has pursued a healthier way of life for more
than three years. While I figured our lunch menu might be bland that would be a small price to pay for
private time with a world leader who is anything but. As it happens the fit trim and sharply attired
Clinton, whom I’ve come to know well during more than two decades covering his political career, is his
usual gregarious charismatic self. But a bland menu? Not even close. As we enter a private room overlooking
Manhattan’s busy Rockefeller Center, I’m struck with a dazzling kaleidoscope of a dozen delicious dishes:
including roasted cauliflower and cherry tomatoes, spiced and hired quinoa snow pea salad, an
assortment of fresh roasted nuts, plates of sliced melon and strawberries and rich, toothsome gig ante beans
tossed with onions in extra-vilgin olive oil. the luncheon banquet gives a whole new meaning to the
dreaded cliché” “Eat your vegetables.” And this is exactly what Clinton, who is taking on America’s
obesity epidemic with the same passionate commitment he brought to the presidency wants. With great relish we start passing plates
back and forth. He favored the quinoa; I loved the roasted
cauliflower and snow peas; and we both like the peas.
At age 66,
Bill Clinton still travels and works at a pace that completely exhausts
staffers who are two or three decades younger Yet while coping with heart disease
and the usual complaints of aging he has managed to change his diet drastically, lose more than
30 pounds and keep the weight off If he can to all that, then maybe there’s hope for the rest of us
Americans of all ages—whose eating and exercise habits and medical expenses worry him a lot.
I first
noticed a change in Clinton’s eating habits when we were in Capetown South Africa
back in July 2010. I have been covering his extraordinary post
presidential career since 2005, interviewing him frequently and trailing with him across Africa Europe and
the Mideast as well as the United States.
We were all preparing to dig into a tempting dinner sent up to
the former president’s suite from a very fine restaurant in the hotel. Sitting down next to him, I glanced
at his plate and saw none of the steak, shrimp,fish or chicken on the buffet—just a tangle of green lo Mein
noodles and a pile of broccoli.
“Is
that all you’re eating? I blurted
To be continued...
DR. KARL WALLACE D.D.S.
