My name is Chau Vuong, a former food service manager, pharmacist, and equity analyst. My latest project, Effective™, is this website to share my knowledge and promote the effectiveness of whole foods to significantly boost one's immunity to viral infections and improve overall health. As our economy reopens, we will face increased exposure to a virus that has infection, severity, and mortality rates much worse than the flu. With a vaccine at least a year away, we can do something NOW to protect ourselves from the virus and speed recovery with what we eat.

Before getting to the theory, I want to share more about my background. At 16, I started my food service career making Whoppers at Burger King. Just a few years later, I became a food service manager at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) cafeteria while I pursued degrees in biochemistry & cell biology and psychology. I spent my spare time as a student researcher investigating antiviral drugs to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a member of the UCSD medical school's ophthalmology department. Upon graduating, I went on to obtain my doctorate in pharmacy from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). While at UCSF, I worked as an equity analyst at Wentworth, Hauser & Violich, a $4 billion investment management firm, covering the pharmaceutical industry. I was then recruited by several leading investment banks and ended up accepting a job offer from Robertson Stephens, the leading investment bank west of Wall Street at that time. I was fortunate to have invested in some emerging pharmaceutical companies very early on and used my financial independence to leave my job as an equity analyst to pursue my childhood passion for computer science over the past 20 years.

My inspiration for Effective™ came from my desire to improve my mother's quality of life. When I took over her care, she was 80 years old and had diabetes, arthritis, and cancer. Having watched my mother's quality of life deteriorate from the ineffectiveness and side effects of drugs, I started a quest to find safe, natural, and effective treatments based on my knowledge of nutrition and pharmacology. Using whole foods and a custom meal plan, I eliminated all her diabetic complications (including neuropathy), ended her arthritis pain, and even shrank a tumor in her neck. As others began to notice her improvement, they would ask me how I did it. They were not even aware the results were possible through whole foods alone. I soon realized that while the information on the effectiveness of whole foods to treat a broad range of medical conditions is out there, it is not always easy to find, let alone understand or share with others.

In today's context, the coronavirus can infect anyone at any time. Consuming nutrient-dense whole foods is more relevant than ever. Since my mom and dad are now in their mid-80's and are in the high-risk population to die from the coronavirus, I have created a meal plan to strengthen the immune system and protect them. I believe without a vaccine or safe treatment, our best defense, other than social distancing, face masks, and good hygiene, is to protect ourselves or speed the recovery process through what we eat. Just as plants have evolved to overcome viruses, I believe the enormous amount of nutrients in whole foods keeps our immune system optimal to adapt to and protect against the unpredictability of the virus. Whole foods are foods that are processed or refined as little as possible such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, teas, whole grains, herbs, and spices. Fresh dairy, eggs, fish, and meats are also considered whole foods. For those who have read my theory on this subject matter or implemented my meal plan, I would welcome your feedback and suggestions. Together, we can protect not only ourselves and our families but also our society as a whole.