Leo Venaas on Transitioning to a Vegan Diet

Leo Venaas is a doctor from Norway, he works on social media and helps people convert to a whole food plant-based diet. We had the opportunity to ask him some questions.

If you are interested in more of the stuff Leo Venaas talks about, we have an exclusive interview with him in our next e-book coming soon!

If sick people know a plant-based diet can help them, why don’t they switch?

Leo tells us, if we understand how humans work, we have an easier time navigating through the irrational human. When it comes to decisions, we usually don’t make decisions based on logic. Human beings, first of all, make decisions based on emotions, and then we try to defend our emotions with logic later.

“Whenever you try to convince people based on evidence and logic you have to address the emotional aspect first. Communication is so key and so important. If you throw evidence and fact at people and they are not ready it will just bounce right off them. So, you have to get emotions down first before you can start arguing. Changing people’s behavior is one of the most difficult things to do.”

How do you help someone start their plant-based journey?

“Start off by encouraging people and tell them that you think it’s amazing they want to start, instead of shaming people for not doing everything at 100%. But it’s important to encourage the good things we see. Tell them it’s amazing you are even considering it.”

But In terms of actual guidance, he tells us it depends on the person. Start with finding out what they need help with. Are they looking for recipes or advice on nutrients? Learning their situation and what their goals are and try to help them from their stand.

You can find Leo Venaas on Instagram: @drleovenus

---