'I wanted to see my grandkids grow up': The touching reason Bill Clinton went vegan

The former president adopted a 'plant-based' diet about five or six years ago and hasn't looked back

Dr. Dean Ornish, a physician consultant to Bill and an adviser to Hillary for more than 20 years, recalled Clinton saying he wanted to live longer

'I asked him why... and he said, "I want to live long enough to walk my daughter down the aisle and to see my grandkids born and grow up"'

He no longer eats meat, cheese, milk, even fish

Bill and Hillary are expecting their first grandchild later this year

Bill Clinton's former doctor has revealed the touching reason the ex-president went vegan - so he could walk Chelsea down the aisle and see his 'grandkids born and grow up.'

He adopted a 'plant-based' diet about five or six years ago, according to Dr. Dean Ornish, a physician consultant to Bill Clinton and an adviser to Hillary Clinton for more than 20 years.

Reflecting on his impetus for changing his diet, Ornish recalled the former president saying he wanted to live longer.

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Healthy choices: Bill Clinton's former doctor has revealed the touching reason the ex-president went vegan - so he could walk Chelsea down the aisle and see his 'grandkids born and grow up'

'I asked him why... and he said, "I want to live long enough to walk my daughter down the aisle and to see my grandkids born and grow up,"' the doctor told the Huffington Post.

In 1993, Ornish said Hillary Clinton asked him to train the chefs at The White House, Camp David, and Air Force One to cook more healthfully for the first family.

He told the news website that he told the president 'It's not all in your genes.'

 

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'Your genes are not your fate... if you change your lifestyle, you change your genes,' he recalled saying.

Ornish went on to explain the futility of genes 'not to blame, but to empower, because if it's all in your genes, there's nothing you can do about it, and [Bill Clinton]'s one of the most powerful people on the planet.'

He said since Clinton started eating mainly fruits and vegetables, he's been 'doing great.'

In an August AARP The Magazine article, Clinton talked about how he lost 30lbs before Chelsea's wedding in July 2010. 

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Living longer: Clinton adopted a 'plant-based' diet about five or six years ago, according to Dr. Dean Ornish, pictured, a physician consultant to Bill and an adviser to Hillary for more than 20 years

'I've stopped eating meat, cheese, milk, even fish,' he said at the time. 'No dairy at all.'

In the article, he said: 'I just decided that I was the high-risk person, and I didn't want to fool with this anymore. And I wanted to live to be a grandfather. So I decided to pick the diet that I thought would maximize my chances of long term survival.'

He said more than giving up meat and chicken, the hardest part was saying no to dairy.

'The main thing that was hard for me actually... was giving up yogurt and hard cheese,' he told the magazine. 'I love that stuff, but it really made a big difference when iI did it.' 

Hillary Clinton is also eating healthier since she stopped traveling so much after stepping down as Secretary of State. 

Thanks to their new virtuous lifestyles, the pair will be fighting fit grandparents to Chelsea's first born, due later this year.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2614546/I-wanted-grandkids-grow-The-touching-reason-Bill-Clinton-went-vegan.html#ixzz3098enSkx 
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