by Sean Herbert

I recently attended a lunch with a few friends enjoying the conversation of the day, when I was afforded the first-hand opportunity to learn what some of the “normal people” say and believe about Hippocrates Health Institute and my company, Got Sprouts?

My friend is a stout carnivore of German decent. You know the kind…Sure of himself and believes everything that he sees on the evening news! Well, my friend brought up a nebulous news story supposedly done on “Wheatgrass and plant-based diet centers, notably Hippocrates Health Institute.” He then proceeded to tell our table of friends that the doctor interviewed by the reporter said, “Those institutes are bogus and only provide a placebo effect. They have no data to back up their claims that eating a plant-based diet cures any diseases.”

I patiently listened to his arguments: “There is no proof. You don’t get enough protein from that diet; that place is too expensive, I would rather eat meat and dairy and be sick than be resigned to eating salads and bark from trees!” You see my friend knew that I grow wheatgrass and sprouts and sell them through the Hippocrates store. He knew my story how I battled Crohn’s disease and started my business, “GOT SPROUTS?”  to provide these super foods to people with health challenges. He also knew that my wife was a program consultant at Hippocrates Health Institute for the past eight years and how she beat cancer.

So, the only reason he could have brought all this up is that he wanted to know more…

I am currently reading a book on the ancient wisdom of the Tao, and one of the lessons it teaches is that when confronted with a belief you should not push, but withdraw and instruct. I could have cited just common sense arguments like when an instinctual animal such as a dog or a cat gets sick, the first thing they look for is grass to detox and stabilize the body. Or the fact that the largest, strongest animals, such as the horse, the  great apes, elephants, as well as the largest dinosaurs, were  all…you guessed it…herbivores. They must have gotten their protein from somewhere other than meat, right? Or the simple fact that Chlorophyll is only one atom of magnesium different from hemoglobin in human blood. Doesn’t it give you peace that the good Lord put the ability to heal ourselves directly under our feet in the form of grass? Or for the Darwinians out there: “Our ecosystem provides all the necessary supplementation to support the survival and the evolution of our species etc, etc…” So instead of attacking, I withdrew to instruct in the hopes that if he reads this in a magazine, he will take it as fact.

You want proof? Please digest the contents of an amazing 40-year study on nutrition called “The China Study” by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University. Dr. Campbell chronicled “The most comprehensive study of Nutrition ever conducted.” This intense study clarifies the relationship between diet and disease and the effects of eating a plant-based diet vs. the harmful consequences of consuming animal proteins. The results will astound you.

Then again, grab some celery and carrot sticks and watch the movie Supersize Me to see the effects upon the human body of eating McDonald’s fast food for 30 days. Then make a nice Sprout Smoothie and take in the nourishment of watching the documentary Forks Over Knives, another amazing documentary showing that when Nazi Germany invaded Norway they confiscated all the meat and dairy to feed their army. This left the Norwegians with nothing but a plant-based diet to sustain themselves from 1941-1945, but here’s the rest of the story. Heart disease, cancer and immune diseases fell sharply, but when the Nazis left and meat was reintroduced to their diets, those same diseases began to flourish.

Take the time and refer to the 1992 John Hopkins University Study on Broccoli Sprouts, citing how sulforaphane in the sprouts retard the growth of cancer cells.  You want first-hand proof? Spend a day in my store and talk to our customers, or attend a graduation from the Hippocrates Life Change program and ask a graduate if their health is worth ANY cost? For the cost of our lunch alone, you could enjoy fresh sprouts for a month! Can’t eat salads and tree bark all day? Try a shot of wheatgrass; it’s only two ounces a day. Try a sprout-green drink or a nice lunch or dinner at a local restaurant. Did you notice that most are carrying vegetarian dishes now? I wonder why…

Life is full of choices. It is your choice what you put into your body. It is your choice as to what you believe. I have witnessed my mother die a slow painful death from the effects of multiple sclerosis. I have watched my wife endure the ravages of chemotherapy. I have read the label on my own medication: “may cause cancer.” I have also witnessed very sick people leave Hippocrates with renewed hope of beating supposedly incurable diseases. I have witnessed improved blood tests from my customers. I have experienced my wife being cancer-free for thirteen years and me being off all medication for Crohn’s.

People’s perceptions are changing. We are realizing that our health is our responsibility, and that mainstream medicine has become in some instances a “business” instead of an honorable catalyst for healing. (Ever spend a five-minute consultation with a doctor just long enough to get a prescription and your insurance information?) It is our responsibility to inform and enlighten the “normal people” before they experience a life-threatening disease. To my friend, I pray that he reads this article, researches the facts and makes up his own mind. I hope he sees the value in referring people to Got Sprouts? and Hippocrates Health Institute.

He might just save someone’s life. So might you.

Sean and Jody Herbert own and operate GOT SPROUTS? located at 1880 West 10th St. in Riviera Beach just south of Blue Heron Blvd on Congress Ave. The store phone number is (561) 689-9464 or you can visit www.GotSprouts.com. They deliver from Jupiter to Boca Raton and ship throughout the continental United States.