Still Anti-Vegan?

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Sep 012016
 

So, back in June, I wrote about how veganism is not for me. Remember then I said that I had issues about it as a diet?

Well, recently a vegan friend of mine finally posted on FB how being vegan is not about the diet, but simply about protecting animals. Instead of preaching about health benefits, she is sticking with her passion in ‘protesting’ against animal cruelty and is actively offering tasty, healthy and reasonable alternatives to eating meat. This much I can accept. 😀

The other day whilst in the car, M was speaking to D and he complained I was trying to turn him into a vegetarian. This is not really true, but by the sheer fact that it is a bit difficult to cook much meaty food, we do eat more veggies than we used to. She then asked if I am still anti-vegan, to which he replied, yes. 🙁

Therefore, I write to clarify this a bit. It is not a matter of being anti-, it is a matter of being pro-. I am pro-health and pro-smart choices. As my friend stated, veganism is not a diet, but a belief system like any philosophy. Unfortunately, it is not a philosophy I am willing to buy into at the expense of health and smart choices.

What I would be interested in hearing are more stories about how being vegan has led to better health and longer-life. Instead what I have read and heard are stories of people who have developed incurable autoimmune diseases or damaged their organs so much from a lack of proper nutrients because of being vegan. Why on earth would anyone want to do this to themselves? Again, how is killing yourself going to actively help the animals from cruelty? I would rather see someone get injured from an actual protest against farm factories or riots in inhumane butcheries. At least then I could see how the injury to the body might actually have an effect. However, merely choosing not to buy something in the supermarket (which is already there!) and damaging the body just seems … well, stupid. Sorry if that offends, but honestly, how can causing the body to slowly deteriorate actually help the animals in need of protecting???

So, my challenge to those vegans out there who do read this blog, send me actual articles from a health standpoint that shows long-term benefits of being vegan OVER being vegetarian or eating whole natural foods. In other words, prove how veganism is better for the health than just eating in moderation or less meat and more veggies. Please leave the animal activist argument out of it and prove to me that this philosophy and belief system is actually worth the sacrifice of your body. I will happily read the evidence and re-consider whether or not I could actually become pro-vegan. However, at the moment, the arguments I see are no different than choosing to be Paleo or deciding to eat whole natural/raw food over processed food.

If we are simply talking about choice of food for the sake of animals, well, then we have nothing to discuss. It is like Muslims not eating pork or requiring halal food due to their beliefs. I respect these decisions to believe as one likes; however, it is best not to preach it as if it is a healthier, better-than-thou life-choice, because that is when indeed I am ANTI-anything. 😛

Still, do not get me wrong – I respect everyone’s personal choices and love them even if I do not agree. We can agree to disagree. 😉

~T 😀

_The 21-day Sugar Detox: Bust Sugar & Carb Cravings Naturally_ by Diane Sanfilippo

 Literary Escapes  No Responses »
Jul 012016
 

21day

_The 21-day Sugar Detox:  Bust Sugar & Carb Cravings Naturally_ by Diane Sanfilippo

At the end of September (yes it has been a while) a friend asked if I wanted to join her in doing a 21-day sugar detox. I had been thinking about it for a while – since going Paleo – but had never really pushed myself into it. This was a good chance to do so. She recommended this book to use for recipes, etc.

It is a good book to start with as it explains what sugar does to the body and provides a lot of recipes to use throughout the 21-days including different levels depending on your purpose and metabolism or exercise patterns. Although it was nearly impossible to cut out alcohol, I did try to stick to less sugary ones such as tequila (yay!) as much as possible. Some days I had to cheat as it is hard to change a diet when your partner is a bit resistant to it. 😛

Still, I learned quite a bit from this and the book. There is also a Facebook page and website to help those who want a community in the struggle to remove one of the most harmful and addictive substances there is out there – and it is part of our daily lives!!!!

So, I recommend everyone try to remove as much sugar from your diet – that means breads/carbs as well – and see how your body can change. 😀

—-

Day 6:  What in nature are you grateful for?

Hm…this is a difficult one…. When I was a younger adult, I used to take a lot of walks in the parks (in Japan mostly) and tried to be more in touch with nature. As a child, I was mostly allergic to everything outside on the farm, so I developed a bit of a love-hate relationship to nature. Since moving to the desert, I hardly consider nature at all and, in fact, when I return to ‘natural’ places, I end up feeling sick again like when I was a child. Thus, it is difficult to consider this. For some reason, when I think about nature, I think woods, trees, flowers and the like. I generally do not conjure up the sea and beach. However, if I acknowledge the sea as nature (of course it is!), then I am most grateful for the ocean and beaches. I am not allergic to either of them! 😛

The ocean and sea has always made me feel small in the amazing power and awesomeness of the water. While I have always held a fear of drowning and do not like to consider the life that exists below, I still feel inspired by the ocean. The waves crashing onto the sand provides me with awe and peace at the same time. I truly feel the strength and beauty of the earth and its creator when I stand at the edge of the water or float in its powerful rolling waves. So, yes, I am grateful for the ocean/sea.

~T 😀

No Veganism for Me

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Jun 082016
 

Be aware that there are some very disturbing scenes in this video should you decide to watch it. It is also over an hour long….

Gary Yourofsky is an animal activist and vegan.

With my step-daughter and her boyfriend having recently gone vegan (about a year now) and coming across other vegans lately, I have decided to be open to exploring the rationale behind such a drastic decision that  affects one’s health as I am quite serious about eating healthy and living a healthy life. However, I have never been convinced that being vegan qualifies as “healthy”.

Most vegans I have come across in my life say they chose to become so due to animal cruelty. The disturbing videos shown in Gary Yourofsky’s speech of farms treating animals horribly are indeed difficult to watch. However, his claim that it is meat-eaters fault that this is happening to animals is a far stretch. That is like saying that a rape is the fault of every woman who dresses alluringly, which is an extremely outdated way of thinking….

There are also a number of other problems with his talk in my opinion….

I am not saying that it is okay to treat animals cruelly, but let’s remember that when we say “humane”, we are qualifying them as humans, which they are not. The whole premise is that humans and animals are equal on this earth; not accepting that makes it hard to buy into his argument. We can still treat animals respectfully as living beings on this earth, but there are better ways to go about making sure this happens than to go vegan.

At the beginning, he tries to quote the Bible, which is poorly done. He forgets to acknowledge that God gave man rule over the animals. God did not make animals equal to humans. True, that He did not say treat them cruelly and eat in excess; but no where does it say that man was meant to not eat the animals. If that were the case, we would also need to not eat plants as well as they are considered to be living beings – are they not? Do we discuss how plants can be forced to grow in undesirable conditions and tear them at the roots from their natural homes?

Also, despite promoting the fact we should eat raw food and food that is natural to the earth (because we do not eat meat raw), he goes on to show products that come in the freezer or prepared meal sections. All the products shown as meat substitutes are processed foods = NOT NATURAL! Also, almost all of the products are made of soy products or rice, which is not healthy for the body in such large quantities as there is proof that digesting these types of food is hard on the body.

He further claims vegans should go all out in not using animal products and makes light of chemicals that are added to substitute in products. However, how can chemicals be better than using natural animal products…? Also, how many vegans do you know actually do this? Isn’t that a bit hypocritical, then?

He claims that eating meat, joints, etc. is gross even though it is as NATURAL as eating fruit and vegetables. In other words, it is not processed!!!

At 1:00:00 he says this:

“Keep in mind veganism isn’t about your health – that would be selfish. Now, I’m trying to get people to be unselfish for a change, to be altruistic. Do something kind for somebody else and when you do that, don’t expect something in return. But when it comes to cruelty I think there is more cruelty in a glass of milk and a steak…”.

This sums it up for me. He does not discuss health to one’s body at all. He is all about the animals, which is indeed a noble cause. I am totally for not being cruel to animals or humans alike. However, I am also about health of the individual so that the human is able to make a proper difference to the world and change in ways that are productive other than by NOT doing something…why not turn it around and actually DO something?

Recently, I listened to this podcast on how a vegan gave it up due to health reasons and found other ways to be an activist without harming her body. When humans are healthy and ethical, then they can really make a difference to animals and the world. If humans and animals are equal, what are the animals doing to make a difference in the world? (Sorry, couldn’t help the sarcasm here… 😛 ).

What I would like is for a vegan to be so without preaching to me or others as to why they have made the ‘right’ choice for the sake of the animals and yet do not follow through 100% nor care nearly as much for their fellow humans.

I am Paleo and I will stay Paleo. There is much more evidence that eating a balanced natural diet is better for the body and health (mental and emotional as well) than being vegan (who seem to be angry and unbalanced most of the time…).

At least, I gave it a go to try to fully understand, but sorry Vegans, I am just not convinced.

~T 😀

 

 

 

 

Rebooting – Days 3 & 4

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Mar 212012
 

Well, the juice diet continues….

We are starting to figure out the best process for juicing. It’s quite a bit of work to prepare juices for all your meals. There’s a lot of washing, peeling and then juicing, plus the clean-up afterwards that is required. It’s more work than cooking a meal each night!

Both of us are doing well overall and definitely feel healthier. R wants to keep going. I miss eating solids, to be completely honest, but I will see if I can stick it out one more day before the break begins. It’s good to be detoxed and cleaned out before I head back to the North American enlarged portions and processed food diet. 😛

After the break, I think we will do it again for a few days to detox again, but I will try to include solid food for dinners, such as salads and vegetable soups (half liquid/half solid :P). As long as we continue to eat mostly fruits, vegetables, legumes and other macronutrient food, we should definitely be healthier and happier!

Last night we had a couple of nuts and dried fruit that couldn’t be blended/juiced and it felt so fantastic to chew! I really like solid food, but can handle eating healthier. Though, I do miss me some grease and red meat – that’s just after four days without it. Pathetic!!! 😀

Mostly, I was concerned about my need for a higher protein level to avoid my body revolting and going into shut-down mode to save energy. So far, I haven’t had any problem with it as we drink whey protein and soy milk for breakfast before the morning breakfast juice. There are some points in the day when I do feel a bit hungry, but never weak or really tired like I used to. We are even still having a large cup of coffee each morning, which actually against the rules, but we both do cherish our cup of coffee so!

Anyway, I would recommend this diet as a way to refresh (or reboot!) the body’s system. I feel less tired (not less stressed, though), healthier and perhaps the best motivator, thinner!

Now, I will just have to test out my self-control on Friday morning when I’m at the airport and faced with fast food options!! 😀 Maybe I’ll have to break my diet on Thursday night so my stomach doesn’t revolt from airplane food…. 😛

-T

Rebooting – Day 2

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Mar 192012
 

I’m still alive…. The first day passed successfully. I did really want to chomp on something greasy as I passed through the cafeteria and smelled all the wonderfully fried food, but then I envisioned my hardened arteries and the pounds added to my hips and put my head down to plow back to my office for my afternoon juice! 😀

For dinner we had Gazpacho. This was strangely spicy and would have actually made a very tasty soup rather than a juice. R didn’t care for the onion even though he only put in a tiny piece. I think it was the red pepper that added the kick, but he disagrees. Either way, it was still good, but it made me miss the act of chewing on something…. Guess it is going to take a bit of getting used to not eating solids.

We started watching the documentary last night and it seems like a reasonable diet.

As Day 2 has progressed, it’s definitely been easier. I think I may even have slept better last night. Today’s juices are: Mean Green and Bountiful Brassica. Both are very green, but nice. I can really taste the broccoli in the latter one (I’m drinking it as I type).

The best part is that stepping on the scale this morning showed I had already dropped 1/2 a kilo or about a pound! Whoop whoop!

😀

 

Rebooting – Day 1

 Going Mental  No Responses »
Mar 182012
 

For the past couple of weeks, R and I have been attempting to change our eating patterns to lose some unnecessary pounds as well as to generally have a better schedule.

Both of us love our food. Perhaps a little too much.

Both of us have considered undergoing the lemonade/juice cleanse, but neither of us have been totally motivated to take it on. Especially since it requires of a day of staying near a toilet and basically starving ourselves until our bodies are void of any food matter. Doesn’t sound like fun, right?

Well, one of our colleagues introduced R to the Reboot Your Life program. Our colleague has noticeably dropped weight and looks healthy as well. I guess that the program is from this documentary – Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, which we are planning to watch tonight or this week as motivation.

So, today is the first day of our ‘Long Weekend’ Reboot, which is three days of just juice. Yesterday, I bought a load of vegetables and last night we juiced up a couple of recipes to get us through the day at work.

This morning we started with a glass of soy milk with whey protein mixed in. I’ve just completed my first juice of Carrot-Apple-Ginger, which wasn’t bad. Later on I’ll have my second juice called Citrus Inspired Green, which I’m not too sure about as it has a lot of leafy lettuce type stuff in it. So, we shall see!

I’ll keep ya’ updated on how it goes! 😀

 Newer Entries
error

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)