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May 15th, 2010

Research Exposes the Truth About a Vegan Diet: Is being Vegan Dangerous?

Written by SupportVegans

Research Exposes the Truth About a Vegan Diet: Is being Vegan Dangerous? Every year millions of Americans resolve to take better care of themselves; to eat better, exercise, lose weight, and become healthy. Every year millions of Americans cope with the devastating effects of disease and cancer. Every year billions of dollars are spent studying populations with low rates of cancer, heart disease and stroke. One of the populations being studied are Vegans. Vegans have a plant based diet and do not eat meat, dairy products or eggs.

Researchers have learned that Vegans live 6 to 10 years longer than the average American, are 50% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease and 60% less likely to develop certain cancers. Vegans have lower blood cholesterol, lower levels of saturated fats and lower blood pressure. Vegans also have a reduced risk of hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes. Vegans have a stronger immune system than people who eat meat and are less susceptible to common illnesses like colds or flu. Vegans also have a higher level of “natural killer cells”. These are specialized white blood cells that attack cancer cells. Another benefit: Vegans who develop cardiovascular disease, cancer or have a stroke have lower mortality rates and recover more quickly than people who eat meat.

Research also suggests children who get their nutrition from plants have a health advantage over children who eat meat. Children in Vegan households tend to have higher IQs, grow taller, have less weight problems, and go through puberty later… (more…)

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April 26th, 2010

Videos: Animal-Rights

Written by SupportVegans

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April 13th, 2010

Is there a Place in Religion for Vegans? Nutrients, Morals, and the Optimal Diet

Written by SupportVegans

Is there a Place in Religion for Vegans? Nutrients, Morals, and the Optimal Diet

Many have become Vegans for moral reasons, ethical reasons, health reasons and/or environmental reasons. However, no matter what the reason, being a vegan does not in any way limit a person’s lifestyle choice or deprive a person of anything that a non-vegans might have.

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…)

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Veganism is Going Green! Time to Get on Board and Save!

Written by SupportVegans

How to “Go Green” and Save More!

The possibility of going green can help you save money at the same time as well. The drastic climate changes have shifted the attention of people towards the planet, deservingly so. Through simple steps the carbon footprint can be reduced enabling people to live in greater harmony with the planet.

One way to go green is by saving energy, conserving energy can help reduce the energy bills hence save money. Adjusting the thermostat ever so slightly can help save on the costs of cooling and heating. Installing compact fluorescent light bulbs can help save energy. Appliances which are not in use should be unplugged. A smart power strip can be used on appliances like computers to reduce the power drained by the appliances. Heating the water in washing machines requires a lot of power hence washing clothes in cold water helps save energy.

Water is a precious commodity; most people in the world do not have access to clean water. Simple steps such as shorter showers and installing low-flow showerheads can help save water. Faucet aerators can help conserve heat and water… (more…)

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January 12th, 2010

HELP YOURSELF TO HEALTHY VEGAN EYES

Written by SupportVegans
Father of the Eye - HDR
Image by ~Dezz~ via Flickr

There are tons of ways that you use self-help to have beautiful, healthy, starry eyes.  The experts suggest a diet high in Vitamin A which includes foods such as carrots, eggs, fish, milk, spinach, papaya, drumsticks, and mangoes. Also exercising, getting adequate rest, drinking 8 ounces of water per day, and not rubbing your eyes under any circumstance to help keep your peepers healthy. To give your eyes a special bright look two drops of pure rose water dropped from a stopper is recommended. Make sure that you get real rose water, as any perfumed product would be harmful to your eyes. For an at home eye remedy a piece of thinly sliced cucumber or potato placed on your eyes for 10 minutes.  This helps erase wrinkles and that “racoon mask” of dark circles around them. The most important eye tip of all though is to always wear sunglasses on bright days because the sun can cause severe damage to your eyes.

Cures from Nature

Natural remedies for healthy eyes can be as simple as placing cold tea bags on your closed eyes for 10 minutes or can involve other plant substances from nature.  The following website suggest some cures: http://www.eyecarebasics.com/eye-care-articles/natural-eye-care.htm

“Natural Remedies To Enhance Eyes

There are several natural (home) remedies available to keep eyes healthy and to deal with (and treat) minor eye problems such as redness and puffy eyes. A few examples of natural remedies are:

Making Use of Natural Creams

In natural eye care healing properties of flowers and plants are used to treat minor problems such as itchy eyes, redness of the eyes and infected (overly irritated) eyes. Different types of advanced eye care are sold by pharmacies and health food shops, mostly containing the following ingredients:

Cucumber or Cucumber Water

Containing Calcium, Vitamins A and C and Magnesium, Cucumber is known for its soothing properties and will help relax eyes and reduce redness of the eyes. Cucumber water or thin slices can also be applied to the skin around the eyes especially if this skin is looking dry. Leaving the slices on the skin for at least fifteen minutes while relaxing will make your eyes look like new!

Agrimony Leaves or Flowers

Dried leaves and flowers of this plant are added to boiled water, after which the infusion is strained and used to bathe the eyes, to reduce swelling and itchy eyes. People who spend a lot of time working behind a computer, experiencing itchy or burning eyes, will also benefit from this remedy.

Marigold Flowers

A weak tea is made, cooled down and cotton wool pads are soaked in the tea, after which the pads are placed on the eyes or the eyes for ten minutes are washed with this liquid.

Eye problems that last longer than two days should always be checked out by a doctor.”

(more…)

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January 6th, 2010

The Vegan Detox: Cleanse your Body and Mind Naturally

Written by SupportVegans

The Vegan Detox: Cleanse your Body and Mind Naturally

In recent years there has been a lot of hype surrounding “Detox” diets such as the Master Cleanse. These cleanses are not what you would characterize as pretty. Personally, everyone I have ever known that decides to live off of lemon juice and cayenne pepper for a week end up reverting back to their old, bad habits. So, how much of a cleanse can that really be?

For years, I have always believed that a vegan diet is a true detox for your body. Vegans and vegetarians probably know what I mean. If you aren’t eating foods that your body considers toxic in the first place, such as animal products, your body will not have anything to “detox” from. Some might argue that there is no such thing as a detox vegan diet plan. If you eat a vegan style diet, you are likely benefiting from the natural detoxifying benefits that a vegan diet provides. Another argument to advocate that a vegan diet is detoxifying would be the idea that the majority of the population normally do not eat as a vegan does, so following a vegan diet in order to detox is detoxifying for a healthier life.

Picture sitting at breakfast when you have just had a blueberry and almond smoothie and wheat toast only to look across the table to see your friend holding their stomach as if it is going to combust after downing a stack of bacon and pancakes. I am sure you can guess who feels healthier at that moment. Yet, that same person who just ingested a pound of cholesterol and fat will be the one to argue that a vegan diet is not “healthy” because it lacks nourishment. A common misconception. (more…)

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December 17th, 2009

Chocolate or Sex? Sensual Madness Q & A!

Written by SupportVegans
Moonstruck chocolates
Image by eszter via Flickr

Chocolate or Sex? Since sex itself, the universal satisfier, as it were, leaves many in a state of want, could that be extended to mean that, given exquisite, knockout sex and idyllic economic lives, chocolate would fade as a back-up, elegaic comfort food?

A recent survey out of the metro-based DietSmart dot-com people (who serve up information on fitness and nutrition) uncovered in the sine curves of their daytime talk-show comparison that women watching “Oprah” were “seven times less likely to crave fattening foods,” than when the same respondents watched other daytime talk shows.

What can we glean from this, other than to jitter ‘round the edges of the differences between Oprah herself, a generously sized woman famously hyper-aware of her weight, and the other talk-show hosts, hanger-thin women and men who occasion head-shaking in the easily dismayed among observers. Leeza, Ricki, Jerry, Regis and the women of The View are all notably thinner than the queen-size queen of daytime talk. Apparently, watching them induces massive bingeing. Not so when we peer at Oprah.

Is looking at Ms. Winfrey the equivalent of looking, perhaps, in the mirror: Beware of stuffing your face. Behold the result …? (more…)

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December 2nd, 2009

Saving Lives with Animal Testing…… Do We?

Written by SupportVegans
Vegan Monkey

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…)

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December 1st, 2009

Mad science? Growing meat without animals

Written by SupportVegans

Pork chops or burgers cultivated in labs could eliminate multiple problems

Winston Churchill once predicted that it would be possible to grow chicken breasts and wings more efficiently without having to keep an actual chicken. And in fact scientists have since figured out how to grow tiny nuggets of lab meat and say it will one day be possible to produce steaks in vats, sans any livestock.

Pork chops or burgers cultivated in labs could eliminate contamination problems that regularly generate headlines these days, as well as address environmental concerns that come with industrial livestock farms.

However, such research opens up strange and perhaps even disturbing possibilities once considered only the realm of science fiction. After all, who knows what kind of meat people might want to grow to eat?

Advantages touted
Increasingly, bioengineers are growing nerve, heart and other tissues in labs. Recently, scientists even reported developing
artificial penis tissue in rabbits. Although such research is meant to help treat patients, biomedical engineer Mark Post at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and his colleagues suggest it could also help feed the rising demand for meat worldwide.
(more…)

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