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When you reduce or eliminate your consumption of animal products, you’ll not only help the earth but also do your body a favor by reducing your intake of saturated fats, artificial hormones and antibiotics while increasing your consumption of vitamins, minerals and fiber. You’ll be healthier and so will the environment… (more…)

Being a vegan benefits the earth because meat factories are, when all is said and done, factories.  They pollute the environment and consume large amounts of diminishing resources, including water, grain, petroleum, and pesticides. (more…)

Even those who are not yet ready to fully embrace the vegan lifestyle can benefit from learning about the way vegans eat. Because vegan diets are plant-based, they are healthier than more typical American diets filled with processed and high-fat foods with few nutrients. Vegan eating has many advantages, including: (more…)

Health benefits are one large attraction of the vegan lifestyle. Those at risk for high cholesterol and high blood pressure are also more susceptible to strokes and heart attacks. In such cases, veganism can save lives, as a life free of animal products tends to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Forget taking medications to prevent such health issues; veganism allows those at risk to improve their health the natural way. A vegan lifestyle can also decrease risk of cancer, since many animal products are processed, and contain harmful chemicals and preservatives. Hence, many harmful side effects of animal products can be avoided through a vegan lifestyle. (more…)

Many vegans supplement their diet with a variety of soy products and other protein alternatives, like soy milk, soy burgers, tofu, and textured vegetable protein. Soy products are as protein-rich as meat and dairy products, but contain no cholesterol, no saturated fat, and no galactose, the sugar that causes lactose intolerance.

Along with the health benefits of the vegan way of life is an obvious side benefit: vegans typically weigh less than either vegetarians or meat eaters. The recent widely-praised book by Mark Bittman, Food Matters, describes how he lost 35 pounds just by going vegan for two meals a day. Imagine how much weight you could lose by eliminating animal products altogether!

Vegan food is also much cheaper than a meat-heavy diet. Everyone knows that shopping the produce aisle is far cheaper than shopping the meat and cheese departments; what’s more, vegan milk and protein alternatives, like Silk Soymilk or White Mountain Tofu, are the same price or cheaper than their animal originals.

Finally, vegans can sleep better at night, knowing that their lifestyle is far easier on the planet than that of animal eaters. Animal farming is widely acknowledged to be unsustainable; the earth simply cannot produce enough cows, sheep, chickens, and goats to feed a world population of over six billion. Globally, animal agriculture has been shown to contribute to global warming, deforestation, species loss, and water pollution. Why continue to be a part of that, when by simply changing how you eat, you can help be part of the solution?

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Being on a balanced diet can be the healthiest thing on earth and a vegan diet proves to be that kind of diet from the few, and is the only diet so very good for the heart, body, mind and soul. Vegans have a slightly higher metabolic rate during rest, meaning that they burn up more calories as body heat rather than storing them as body fat. This small increase in the rate of caloric expenditure means a huge amount of calories burned with no additional effort. This in turn secludes one from obesity, cancer, heart disease and many other ailments attributed to consumption of meat. A vegan diet is also likely to be a high fiber diet and an important ingredient for life longevity.

What about nutrients? How on earth do vegans get their nutrients if they are not eating meat anyway? One would be surprised how easy it actually is to have a very healthy well balanced vegan diet from familiar tastes one knows and loves, and may also be inspired to explore many new foods, opening oneself up to discover a new world of taste sensations. One may notice the great variety of grains, nuts, nut butters, beans, rice, pastas, breads, fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices one may not have cooked with before.

There are daily alternatives such as soymilk, almond milk, rice milk, nondairy ice creams, margarine, dairy-free cream and many more, and the diet can never be boring as most people would speculate. Many familiar favorites and international specialties are naturally vegan like the Italian spaghetti with marinara sauce, the Middle Eastern falafel, Indian rice biriyani, Chinese stir-fry veggies, Japanese vegetable sushi; and French fries, to mention but a few… (more…)

There is a popular slogan, “Be vegan in every sphere of your life.” A short survey was conducted by a team of well experienced healthcare consultants in New York to know the public interest about vegan lifestyle. To be frank, the response was very positive. Therefore, the magnitude of the importance of vegan living can’t be denied.  A guy who opts for vegan diet will have to take lot of fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains inclusive of legumes.    In actuality,  it is considered to be the powerful source of collecting vitamins and proteins. It is also much conducive to control the calorie percentage of the body.  Micronutrients such as vitamin A, Riboflavin, Biotin, ascorbic acid including Vitamin B12 and so on are available through green leafy vegetables, carrots, squash, peanuts, hiziki, fresh yeast and nori.  Macronutrients like protein and fat can also be collected from Avocados, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds.

Therefore, sufficient intake of vegetables will prevent a number of lethal diseases as well.  Frankly speaking, it is a type of fat free dietary program which will energize human beings boosting up the level of resistance power in men. According to experts, this type of vegan lifestyle is also helpful to persons to check the possibility of the attack of cancer or any type of incurable chronic disease.  Those who want to undergo such dietary program must avoid taking meat and fish.  There are a number of reasons of opting for the vegan living.  Many think that by being habituated to take fruits, vegetables and grains, it is possible to assist the ecological balance. It teaches persons to let other animals live comfortably on the earth. It is also very significant from the philosophical point of view.  This concept germinates the seeds of humanity and philanthropic love in the mind of man… (more…)

The BIG “3” for Veganism – Why We Do It – Don’t Worry, Animal-Rights are #4

Yes we’re a fourth of the way into the year and let’s face it, that New Year Resolution you made to go on a diet, live healthier or go green is just a blimp on your radar.

Well at the risk of sounding like an infomercial-no offense to Ron Popeil.  Love his infomercials at 2:00 in the morning- but I have the magic answer to those resolutions.  The all-in-one solution to all your life’s dilemmas (And no it wont cost you 3 easy monthly payments of $19.99 thank you very much).  Introducing-cue the music- Veganism!  Yes folks I have found the answer to solving your health problems, your weight problems and good ole mother nature’s problems.

Okay, let me back up for a second.  For those who might not be familiar with the terms vegan or veganism, Wikipedia defines it as “a diet and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.”  Although there are different degrees of veganism, generally living the life of a vegan requires a lot of diligent work and.  For example, you have to know how and where the products you are buying are being manufactured.  However, the benefits often outnumber the labor involved.   Here are just three ways veganism can be beneficial to your everyday life:

Health Benefits

Since vegan diets do not contain heart-clogging cholesterol and, for the most part, are low in fat, the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease is reduced.  In fact, a British research published in the July-August, 2005 Vegetarian Journal compared 21 vegans to 25 non-vegetarians similar in age and BMI (Body Mass Index).  Not only did the vegans have lower blood pressure, they also had lower blood triglycerides levels and lower fasting blood glucose levels than the non-vegetarians.

Weight Loss

In 2005 the American Journal of Medicine conducted a study on low-fat, plant based diets.  Not surprisingly, the study showed these diets were more effective at helping the participants lose weight.  Vegan diets are primarily made of fruits and veggies, combined with protein rich foods like tofu and nuts which help regulate the blood sugar in your system.  What does that mean?  No more mid-morning crashes.  Your tummy feels full and your mind remains on other things beside the box of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts your coworker brought in this morning.

Environment

Let’s face it we ALL need to start thinking about our carbon footprint.  A vegan lifestyle tends to take Mother Nature into consideration.  According to the UN “the livestock sector emerges as one of the top 2 or 3 most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems.”  Simply eliminating the consumption of animal products can reduce one of the most sizable environmental problems.  If that is not an enough of an eye-opener just think about the following stats Earthsave International compiled:

• Over 80% of the corn and oats grown in the U.S. are fed to livestock;
• An acre can produce either 165 pounds of beef or 20,000 pounds of potatoes;
• It can take 50 times more fossil fuels to produce a meat-centered diet compared to a    meat-free diet;
• It takes 25 gallons of water to produce a pound of wheat and 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat.

The effects of living a vegan lifestyle can have an impact on your health, your diet and the environment as a whole.  There are endless ways a vegan lifestyle can improve your well-being.

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Does living a Vegan Lifestyle go Beyond Health? Complex Carbohydrates, Cosmetics and Livestock Waste

Vegan living is a lifestyle choice that has gained much popularity in the United States of America. Those who prefer to live this lifestyle over normal living are individuals who choose to miss out on meat and dairy products. As an alternative, their diets comprise exclusively of plant-based foods. They go so far as to excluding eggs, dairy and even honey from their diets. Animal skin and fur are further excluded from their closets. Down comforters and cosmetics that have been tested on animals are forbidden from their lives as well.

Why Do People Become Vegans?

The reasons behind individuals becoming vegans go far beyond health. At times their sole aim is to live a cruelty free life. They believe that by not including animal products, plant foods are grown and consumed more for human consumption more willingly than livestock which results in a better world.

Individuals are further interested in becoming vegans due to the health benefits that this lifestyle offers. Scientific research that has been carried out proves that vegans and vegetarians tend to have lower rates of cancer and heart disease, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and less incidence of diabetes. Vegan diets have proven that they have a vast number of benefits to individuals that have autoimmune diseases for example multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

What Does Vegan Living Provide?

Vegan diets offer complex carbohydrates that break down in the body to provide unrelenting energy levels. Foods rich in complex carbs include oatmeal, bran, brown rice, pasta, corn, potatoes, peas, beans and lentils. There is a general notion that vegan lifestyles are boring and do not provide essential nutrients. This is not true at all! Those who follow this lifestyle have multiple food choices that include fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Fruits and vegetables which they consume offer an excess of vitamins and minerals, as well as the most significant dietary fiber. It is believed that people who utilize high fiber diets can considerably decrease their risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and diverticulitis which is a disease of the colon.
Further Benefits of Vegan Living

Taking up vegan living is far more than making a dietary choice. The vegan lifestyle is based on the philosophy of “gentle-living”, which makes them commit to make the world a better place before they leave it. All of them are against animal cruelty; for the most part factory farms in which animals are usually mistreated and abused.
It is believed by the Natural Resources Defense Council that the major source of water pollution is livestock waste and tends to pose a threat to human health and the natural environment. Upon decomposition of manure a number of harmful chemicals are released including methane gas; a greenhouse gas that has been connected to climate change. Unluckily, we live in a toxic world. Even though we cannot shun every chemical and environmental pollutant, the adaptation of vegan lifestyle can considerably decrease our contact with detrimental toxins.

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Two kinds of people exist in the world: those who want answers to their questions and those who don’t. More important than knowing the answers to questions is having the skill to tell the difference between these people.

Conversations may be one way that meat eaters learn about vegetarianism; but they are also the most stubborn way that meat eaters hold onto their lifestyle. Indeed, conversations themselves are functioning differently from eaters than for vegetarians. Frequently, meat eaters are trying to find ways to dull the impact of our words, while we are constantly finding ways to sharpen those words.

Numerous vegetarian organizations, books, and Web sites provide definitive answers to every possible question a meat eater might throw a vegetarian. “Be Prepared,” these answers suggest. They imply, “if you are prepared, your conversations will be easier, less stressful.” The intentions of these answers to frequently asked questions are admirable, but they misunderstand a basic dynamic: you cannot argue with a people’s mythology.

Meat Eating is one of our culture’s mythologies. Atlas will fling the world on his shoulders before we dislodge the mythology through argument alone. Moreover, the questions meat eaters asked may not be a questions meat eaters need answered. Often, the content of the conversation itself is the least important aspect of the conversation. You need to learn how to identify the question behind the question.

You should assume that for the meat eater, conversations with you function to distort and block your perspective as much as they function to convey information. This perspective accounts for our basic rules for talking with meat eaters. (more…)

There are no real alternatives to animal experimentation, as alternatives are those options that arise in order to replace something of somewhat the same worth, and there is nothing else in the world that is quite as useless, harmful and misleading as animal experimentation. This is why animal rights activists all over the world should start declining medicines that have been tested on animals.

“I have studied the question of vivisection for thirty-five years and am convinced that experiments on living animals are leading medicine further and further from the real cure of the patient. I know of no instance of animal experiment that has been necessary for the advancement of medical science; still less do I know of any animal experiment that could conceivably be necessary to save human life.”
-H. Fergie Woods, M.D.

Clearly, it is pretty much impossible to ‘untest’ a particular drug. Now that the knowledge of its use is already with us, most individuals don’t even bother looking into the means through which it was initially obtained. Yes, of course a person may very well regret the fact that insulin came about only after experimenting on dogs, but they are basically powerless when it comes to changing the fact. What we need to know is that animal testing doesn’t have a monopoly on the existence of insulin or on the existence of any substance being used to treat some kind of illness.

On the other hand, it would be very wrong to state that animal testing has no scientific merit to it. However, the practical and humanitarian justification of animal testing must be called into question when you consider other similar evil practices like imperialism and slavery, which were at one time most certainly acceptable and useful to their perpetrators.

The most commonly held perception (or rather misconception) of animal testing is that it is necessary for the development of cures, vaccines and other treatments for human illnesses.

Supporters ask a very important question – what would happen to research on cancer, heart disease and AIDS if animal experimentation were to be completely stopped? Will the progress in treatments and cures for such illnesses also come to a stop? (more…)