Mark Cerkvenik

Mark Cerkvenik
Let’s Eat Great Food
www.letseatgreat.com

Growing up in the Chicago area, through most of his early adult life, Mark ate a diet consisting of roast beef, cheese burgers, fried chicken, french fries, veggies cooked in butter and salads swimming in dressing. Mark struggled with his weight throughout his life and tried many approaches to improve his health.

For almost 15 years he worked in leadership roles at Loyola University Health System and Northwestern Medicine training and coaching clinical leaders whose departments saw thousands of patients dealing with chronic illnesses. He often thought there must be a better way to treat and prevent diseases besides frequent doctor visits and a lifetime of prescription drugs. In addition to his own health issues his parents, in-laws and close friends suffered from acute or chronic health issues largely as a result of their food choices.

Mark was a pescatarian (eating cheese, fish and veggies) for over 25 years, but not until he adopted a whole food plant-based diet in 2018 did he see tremendous improvement in his health and a path to maintain a healthy weight. Through the evidence based research by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) he learned an approach to improving his health and preventing and/or managing chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer and now is focused on sharing this knowledge in his community.

Mark has taken his passion for cooking,  guided by celebrity chefs he considers mentors, Jacques Pépin, Lidia Bastianch and Paul Hollywood,  and created gourmet whole-food plant based, no-oil dishes throughout the United States on tours to locations such as, Charleston,  South Carolina, Asheville, North Carolina, the coast of Maine, Glacier National Park, Yosemite and Santa Fe,  New Mexico. Currently Mark is working on methods to engage more men in a whole-food plant based lifestyle and is the leader of a Building Healthy Communities group in his area. More information about Building Healthy Communities can be found at https://letseatgreat.com/building-healthy-communities-orland-and-frankfort-townships/

You can find Mark at www.letseatgreat.com or on Facebook @letseatgreatfood.