The Accidental Vegan

By : Elizabeth Donaldson

I was born into the quintessential middle-class American family. We always ate meat at least once a day, never really pausing to think about where our food came from or what exact method was used to acquire it. At the age of 10, I had a babysitter who was vegetarian and health-conscious. She would cheerfully answer any questions I had, and sometimes throw in a few bits of information about how healthy something was.

Over the ensuing 12 years, I gradually became more and more interested in nutrition and general health, reading random articles about sleep, antioxidants, whether the latest fad diets had any merit, etc. (Watching Supersize Me in Human Biology made a huge impact.) Eventually, I began to hear references to animal cruelty. I learned a little bit about debeaking, and when I finally learned what veal was, I swore I would never eat it, because it just doesn't seem right to me to eat an animal's young.

Then, last year, I came across the link for the documentary Earthlings. I was a bit wary of the violence in the film, so I opted to watch the trailer first. Those 2 1/2 minutes alone were more than I could stand.

A few nights later, I had a nightmare that reenacted the cow-skinning clip I had seen in the Earthlings trailer. My brain replayed over and over again that poor animal having its hide torn off while still conscious, as indifferent humans stood by to make sure that every marketable piece of skin made it off. In the dream, I screamed for them to stop, but I was completely powerless.

When I looked in the fridge the next morning, the meat, eggs, and dairy symbolized much more to me than they had before. I kept seeing those clips of livestock animals thrashing about in pain as the life drained out of their open throats, of cows being skinned alive, of circus trainers telling their colleagues to scare the animals they were entrusted with, and the whole thing made me sick.

I literally became a vegan overnight. Though I was living with my omnivorous family at the time, once they understood my reasons, they were both very accommodating and supportive.

When I joined my fiancé in Ecuador, I floundered for a bit, then switched to omnivorism for a few months. (Transparency within agencies seems to be rarer here than in the States. There's a fair amount of information about things like bullfights, pet abuse, illegal smuggling of exotic animals, etc., but not nearly as much about dairy farms, factory farms, and so forth.) Corporations were probably still the bad guys, but the vendors at local markets surely treated their animals better, right? But then I realized that even if the meat comes from an old animal who's been loved and cared for all its life, and will probably die in a few days anyway, it seems so much more ethical and humane to me to just say no. (Besides, I have no real information about how these vendors get their products anyway.)

And so I am lacto-ovo-vegetarian, for now at least. I am still figuring out the right balance between ethics, personal nutrition, our finances, and available goods in a foreign country; however, right now it is my hope to return to veganism. Through it all, I'm lucky to have a supportive fiancé and family, and friends who range from vegan to that-guy-who-good naturedly-teases-you-about-veganism-or-nutrition.

PS. If every one of us inspired ONE person to go meatless imagine the difference we could make in ten years time. I am going to collect inspirational vegetarian/vegan stories to share with everyone. If you think your story will inspire others, please share with me by sending it to info@veglov.com. I will post your stories on this www.veglov.com blog. I believe everyone has his/her own story, I think it must be great when we can share our stories and inspire others. Let’s make the world a better place. ~ Xiao Kang.

How to Have a Balanced Vegan Diet

A vegan diet is the strictest form of vegetarianism. While a vegetarian might pour milk on cereal or eat cookies made with eggs and butter, a vegan avoids all animal products including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, even honey.

The motivation to adopt such a hard-core diet varies. Some do it for ethical reasons, not wanting to harm animals for human consumption.

Others like the fact a vegan diet is better for the environment than one based on meat. Large-scale meat production is thought to contribute as much as 22 per cent of greenhouse gases in the world each year.

The health benefits are a draw as well. A vegan diet has been shown to improve blood sugar in people with diabetes, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood pressure, and promote weight loss. It may even help prevent colon cancer and heart disease.

The key to a healthy vegan diet is variety. If you’re considering becoming a vegan, the following tips will help you adopt a meal plan that includes adequate protein, carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins and minerals. You might also think about consulting with a dietitian to ensure your diet is balanced and complete.

Protein

Vegans get protein from lentils, beans (e.g. chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, soy beans), tofu, tempeh, seitan (a protein made from wheat), soy beverages, nuts and seeds. Whole grains and vegetables also supply some protein. Rice, almond and oat beverages are low in protein.

Vegans can easily meet daily protein requirements providing their calorie intake is adequate. If calorie needs aren’t met, some protein from the diet will be used for energy rather than muscle repair and making body proteins such enzymes and immune compounds.

With the exception of soy beans, vegetarian proteins are missing, or low in, one or more essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Essential amino acids must come from food because the body can’t make them on its own.

It was once thought vegans needed to pair certain protein foods together at meals to form a complete protein. It’s now understood that as long as a variety of protein foods are eaten over the course of the day, protein combining is not necessary. Include at least one protein-rich food at each meal.

Vitamin B12

Naturally-occurring only in animal products, vegans need to include three servings of B12-fortified foods in their daily diet. One serving equals: fortified plant beverages (1/2 cup), nutritional yeast (1 tablespoon), fortified breakfast cereal (30 grams), or fortified soy products (42 g).

To ensure B12 needs are met, take a B12 supplement or multivitamin with 5 to 10 micrograms of B12.

Vitamin D

Children and adults require 600 IU (international units) of vitamin D daily; at age 70 requirements increase to 800 IU. Some people may require more vitamin Dto maintain a sufficient blood level.

Food sources in the vegan diet include fortified plant beverages and orange juice (1 cup provides 100 IU).

To meet vitamin D needs, a supplement is required. Most multivitamins contain 400 IU vitamin D. Separate vitamin D supplements may be needed. Choose vitamin D3 over D2 as it’s the more active form. The safe daily upper limit is 4,000 IU.

Calcium

Good food sources include fortified plant beverages and juice, tofu made with calcium sulphate, beans, cooked green leafy vegetables (kale, collards, Swiss chard, spinach), cooked broccoli, almonds, tahini, and blackstrap molasses.

To meet daily calcium requirements, a supplement may be required.

Iron

Vegetarians require almost twice as much iron than meat-eaters each day since the body absorbs iron from plant foods less efficiently. Good sources include beans, lentils, nuts, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, breakfast cereals (non-sugary)and dried fruit.

Iron absorption can be increased by eating plant foods with vitamin C-rich foods such as citrus fruit, strawberries, red pepper and tomato juice.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Women need 1,100 milligrams of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) per day and men require 1600 milligrams.

The best food sources of this omega-3 fat include ground flaxseed (2 tablespoons has2400 mg), flax oil (1 teaspoon has2,400 mg), walnuts (7 halves have 1,280 mg), and soybeans (1/2 cup has 514mg). Soy beverages fortified with ALA provide about 300 mg per 1 cup serving.

Eating & Running Well on a Dime

By : Ellen Jaffe Jones

Ellen Jaffe Jones is the author of the best seller, "Eat Vegan on $4 a Day." Her book went to a second printing faster than any other book in her publisher's long history of vegetarian and alternative health books. She has been a headline speaker and cooking demonstrator at the largest VegFests in the US and Canada since her book came out in June 2011. Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine's Dr. Neal Barnard wrote the book's foreword, "No one is better qualified to write the book. What I admire so much about Ellen is that, unlike so many people today, she is not trying to sell any product, device, or gimmick. Her goal is not to make money but reveal the truth." T. Colin Campbell (The China Study), Rory Freedman (Skinny Bitch), Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (Compassionate Cooks) and Ruth Heidrich (Race for Life) also wrote cover endorsements.

Ellen wrote her book after seeing too many news stories saying eating healthfully on a budget was impossible. Many have sought Ellen’s expertise in modeling a healthy lifestyle, especially after her mom, aunt & both sisters got breast cancer.  Ellen has won the highest awards in broadcasting. She was a 2-time Emmy-winning TV investigative reporter for 18 years, turned financial consultant who used her background to do the investigative reporting job of her life: dodging genes that gave her mom, aunt and both sisters breast cancer. In addition, they and most other adults had major heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's. Ellen was part of the original breast cancer gene studies.

She now often places in 5K races for her age group and did her first marathon in 2010. She was the 5th oldest female to finish the Palm Beaches Marathon. She has won 5 gold medals in Florida's Senior Games. At almost 60, her times are 6 seconds behind female personal records for NCAA college track team times in the 100 and 400 meter races. The "Anna Maria Islander" chose Ellen as the 2010 sports story of the year.

As an Aerobics and Fitness Association of America certified personal trainer, and Road Runners Club of America certified running coach, she volunteers as the assistant girls cross country coach at Manatee High in Bradenton, FL. She is a personal trainer at Island Fitness on Anna Maria Island, FL as well as an online trainer/coach. She was a media consultant for PCRM, a cooking instructor for PCRM's Food for Life/Cancer Project program for 6 years before her book came out, and before that, a La Leche League leader and associate coordinator of leader accreditation for Missouri. Many media stories praised Ellen’s cooking classes and her ability to defy cancer odds.

One of her best successes was a newspaper story on a cooking class student who lost 120 pounds in 8 months. Ellen was also the cover story for the Tampa Bay (St. Petersburg) Times "Personal Best" Magazine in 2011. As a Wall Street financial consultant, she focused on socially responsible investing earning her an environmental award in St. Louis, as the nickname, "Earth Mother in a Suit."

At the request of her publisher and others, Ellen also consults with other authors on how to build social media presence. Also at the request of her publisher, she has signed a contract for a second book due out in 2013.

Ellen also won the National Press Club 1^st Place Award for Consumer Reporting in 1984. Her 2 Emmys and 4 more nominations included an FDA recall her story started, and her main claim to fame: breaking the story about the Miami school superintendent who stole gold-plated plumbing for his summer home using public money. He resigned and went to jail. National publications cited the story as part of the cause for Miami’s 1980 riots. She also broke the national story about Chrysler’s executive driving program that sold used cars to the public as new.

Figuring out the truth about food and fitness has been the investigative reporting job of her life. She calls herself the "VegCoach" and "broccoli rep," because as she likes to say, "When you understand there's no money in broccoli, you have to be your own investigative reporter and figure out the truth. There's no broccoli board, association or lobby. And who else IS the broccoli rep?"

Ellen Jaffe Jones
Author/Personal Trainer/Coach/Cooking Classes
www.vegcoach.com
http://facebook.com/EatVeganOn4DollarsADay
http://twitter.com/#!/VegCoach

PS. If every one of us inspired ONE person to go meatless imagine the difference we could make in ten years time. I am going to collect inspirational vegetarian/vegan stories to share with everyone. If you think your story will inspire others, please share with me by sending it to info@veglov.com. I will post your stories on this www.veglov.com blog. I believe everyone has his/her own story, I think it must be great when we can share our stories and inspire others. Let’s make the world a better place. ~ Xiao Kang.

I Won't Eat Anything with a Face...

By : Fiona Birnie-McKay

As a teenager I was desperate to be a vegetarian but there just wasn't enough alternatives like there are now.

It was only when Linda McCartney's vegetarian range came out in the mid 90's that the opportunity to change to a complete Veggie lifestyle set me on the right track :)

Expecting twins in 1996 my consultant insisted I continue to eat fish for the health of my unborn children. So it was tuna until 15th September 1996 and I've never looked back :)

The thought if eating a living being that once had a face and heartbeat haunts my head with horror. I can no longer even walk past a worm on the pavement without helping it into the safety of the earth...

I feel passionate and proud to be a Vegetarian and that 2 of my 4 children have followed my steps through their own choices :)

The thought of animals suffering at the hands of humans makes me feel sick, I want to help them but can't ......

The more of us who become veggie can help protect and give compassion to them and make for a better world.

PS. If every one of us inspired ONE person to go meatless imagine the difference we could make in ten years time. I am going to collect inspirational vegetarian/vegan stories to share with everyone. If you think your story will inspire others, please share with me by sending it to info@veglov.com. I will post your stories on this www.veglov.com blog. I believe everyone has his/her own story, I think it must be great when we can share our stories and inspire others. Let’s make the world a better place. ~ Xiao Kang.

From Loving Animals to Respecting Them

By : Cristina Escalona

I have always loved animals, and I remember being a child and asking about how animals were killed in slaughterhouses. I remember my father told me that they were killed instantly, so they didn't suffer and I didn't have to worry about that. Actually, everybody had always made me think that eating meat was a necessity. So, I never thought in becoming a vegetarian. I guess that when I heard about vegetarianism I thought about people who wanted to slim down or something like that. Anyway I was a sensitive child and once I began to think that the egg yolk was the blood of the future chick, so I couldn't eat fried eggs, because the liquid yolk made me think that I was eating blood.

This is just an anecdote, but I didn't become a vegetarian until I was almost 21 years old. I was doing an exchange in Belgium. For the first time in my live I was living alone and cooking everyday for myself. I realized that I didn't buy so much meat, and when I did, it was quite disgusting for me to have to cook it. When I saw the raw meat in the fridge I felt disgust. But it wasn't until I saw a poster in the wall of the university that I began to connect the fact of being vegetarian to the fact of loving or respecting animals. In the poster you could see a death cow on one side, with a sad emoticon, and some fruits in the other side with a smile face, and you could read on it: vegetarian! What I thought when I saw it was: they are right, it is so sad.

However I didn't became a vegetarian until some weeks later when by chance I meet the girl who had stuck the poster I saw. She explained to me that she was an animal rights activist and that she was a vegetarian. It was then when I finally did the connection and I decided to try a vegetarian diet. The same day I decided to change my diet I saw Earthlings, a documentary where the reality of animals is exposed, and then I knew I will always be vegetarian.

At the beginning it was difficult for my family and friends to understand it, and for me to feel confortable in the family dinners, but finally they get used and me too. Now my mother and my sisters eat much less meat than before, and I hope some day they will take the decision of being vegetarian and respecting the other animals. My boyfriend wasn't a vegetarian when I met him, but I show him why I was a vegetarian and he decided to have a vegetarian diet

PS. If every one of us inspired ONE person to go meatless imagine the difference we could make in ten years time. I am going to collect inspirational vegetarian/vegan stories to share with everyone. If you think your story will inspire others, please share with me by sending it to info@veglov.com. I will post your stories on this www.veglov.com blog. I believe everyone has his/her own story, I think it must be great when we can share our stories and inspire others. Let’s make the world a better place. ~ Xiao Kang.

Vegetarian Diet Healthy: Medical Study

Australian doctors are being assured their patients will benefit if they adopt a diet that's free of meat.

An Australian-first scientific research review, published in the Medical Journal of Australia today, has found vegetarians receive more health benefits than risks from their plant-based diet.

The Journal examined deficiencies traditionally thought to affect those who have adopted a vegetarian diet and found they were receiving adequate levels of protein, iron and zinc.

Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton, who has written an accompanying editorial to the research papers, says the scientific evidence shows a well-planned, plant-based diet can meet the nutritional needs of adults and children.

"The evidence is quite good that people who follow a vegetarian diet are likely to have less heart disease, less colorectal cancer, less type-2 diabetes and they're less likely to be obese," she said.

While those who don't eat fish may be receiving less omega-3 fatty acids than considered desirable, the study also found vegetarians do not exhibit signs of a clinical deficiency.

Deficiencies in vitamin B12 were noted in vegans; people who shun any animal-based product including milk and eggs.

B12 is required to help make red blood cells and to keep nerves functioning and the study recommended vegans receive supplements either through eating B12-fortified foods or by taking a daily supplement.

Dr Stanton said the study was also prompted by the increase in the number of people who are looking to reduce their intake of meat for both health and sustainability.

"The question they've been asking, which this supplement aims to answer, is: 'Is there a problem if I don't have meat every night?' And the answer is almost certainly no, but it doesn't mean that you just have a bucket of chips," she said.

Source : The Sydney Morning Herald

Vegetarians 'Cut Heart Risk by 32%'

Ditching meat and fish in favour of a vegetarian diet can have a dramatic effect on the health of your heart, research suggests.

A study of 44,500 people in England and Scotland showed vegetarians were 32% less likely to die or need hospital treatment as a result of heart disease.

Differences in cholesterol levels, blood pressure and body weight are thought to be behind the health boost.

The findings were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Heart disease is a major blight in Western countries. It kills 94,000 people in the UK each year - more than any other disease, and 2.6 million people live with the condition.

The heart's own blood supply becomes blocked up by fatty deposits in the arteries that nourish the heart muscle. It can cause angina or even lead to a heart attack if the blood vessels become completely blocked.

Scientists at the University of Oxford analysed data from 15,100 vegetarians and 29,400 people who ate meat and fish.

Over the course of 11 years, 169 people in the study died from heart disease and 1,066 needed hospital treatment - and they were more likely to have been meat and fish eaters than vegetarians.

Dr Francesca Crowe said: "The main message is that diet is an important determinant of heart health, I'm not advocating that everyone eats a vegetarian diet.

"The diets are quite different. Vegetarians probably have a lower intake of saturated fat so it makes senses there is a lower risk of heart disease."

The results showed the vegetarians had lower blood pressure, lower levels of "bad" cholesterol and were more likely to have a healthy weight.

Tracy Parker, from the British Heart Foundation, said: "This research reminds us that we should try to eat a balanced and varied diet - whether this includes meat or not.

"But remember, choosing the veggie option on the menu is not a shortcut to a healthy heart. After all, there are still plenty of foods suitable for vegetarians that are high in saturated fat and salt.

"If you're thinking of switching to a vegetarian diet, make sure you plan your meals carefully so that you replace any lost vitamins and minerals, such as iron, that you would normally get from meat."

Source : BBC News Health