Today on the exam room.

Beginner is really about trying vegan.

About a quarter stay vegan afterwards and then another 50% reduces their animal consumption by more than 50%.

So there's a lot of people who try it and then they love it, they see their benefits and they continue.

Welcome to the exam room podcast. they see their benefits and they continue.

Welcome to the exam room podcast, brought you by the Physicians Committee. Hi, I'm the weight loss champion, Chuck Carroll, raising health IQs coast to coast and around the world.

Hi to the exam room.

He's listening in Tallahassee, Florida, Westminster, Colorado, and Athens, Greece.

Wherever you are, we appreciate you helping to make the world a healthier place.

This is episode seven of season eight, number 606 overall. And happy Vignauer to you.

Indeed, my friend, the biggest plant-based month of the year also happens to be the first month of the year. So January is now Viganuary. And every year,

the shift toward a plant-based diet gets bigger and bigger and bigger. And Sandra Hungate is the director of Vigannuary here in the

United States, and she is our guest on the exam room today. So now you know the name of the month,

but do you know how it began? Well, we're going to get a history lesson from Sandra who traces

its origins all the way back to the United Kingdom.

But it wouldn't be long before the month was celebrated around the world.

And how big is this thing now?

Well, consider that the movement has spread to more than 20 countries.

And to date, millions have participated. And just as you heard Sandra say,

about one and four people who go vegan, stay vegan. And another 50% wind up cutting their

meat and dairy consumption by half. Meaning, using simple math here, that is a 75% success rate, which is absolutely fantastic and exactly what we call progress.

So let's hop right in with Sandra Hungate, director of Viganduary here in the United States to find out what this month is all about and even some celebrities who are pitching in.

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