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STAND UP AND BE COUNTED AMONG THE HEALTHY ONES:  LIVING AS A VEGAN. What do people like iconic Indian superstar, Amitabh Bachchan, sexy Richard Gere, Anthony “Hannibal Lector” Perkins, athletic Carl Lewis, Tobey “Spiderman” Macguire have in common? That they are famous and that they are role models? No doubt. But more fundamentally they are vegetarians or vegans.

Tobey, for example, bulked up for his role in Spiderman by eating lots of tofu. He turned vegetarian in 1992 because, he said that even when eating chicken, he would imagine the live bird. Shania Twain, who won the first Sexiest Vegetarian Alive given by PETA, says that she has more energy since she turned vegetarian.

Oprah Winfrey, who has tried numerous diets, and is perpetually trying to lose weight, is now trying a vegan diet after her recently acknowledged and publicly admitted weight gain.

Is Vegan Food Boring? New Insights for Adventurous Animal-Free Eating. Doesn’t Vegan food get boring? Just the opposite—veganism opens the door to new adventures in eating. If you enjoy cooking your own meals, you’ll discover that bookstores have shelves filled with cookbooks containing imaginative vegetarian recipes from around the world. Try Ethiopian lentil stew, eggplant parmesan, or bean quesadillas for a satisfying meal that’s inexpensive and delicious.

Looking for ways to fight climate change while improving your health? You can do both by trying a meat-free diet. Plant-based food production takes less water and energy than animal products like meat, dairy and eggs, so vegetarianism is better for our fragile ecosystem. Raising cattle and pigs also produces carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change. Raising plants, by contrast, reduces carbon dioxide and puts more oxygen into the atmosphere.

Being Vegan is Not Restrictive: Veganism frees from Disease & Death. Eating healthy is a hot topic these days.  It is more important than ever that everyone eat healthy.  While someone might look at a vegan diet as very restrictive, a vegan diet is a healthy diet, if properly designed.  There are many benefits of a vegan diet.  There are benefits of for the earth, for the animals, and most importantly, for the vegan.

First, a vegan is a vegetarian that does not eat anything that comes from an animal: not meat, not eggs or milk, or any related products.

The health benefits of being a vegan are many. Vegans tend to have a lower body mass, less heart disease, less hypertension, lower cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.  Vegans also have less incidents of type 2 diabetes.  The reasons for these health benefits is that vegan foods are lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and have higher levels of carbs, fiber, magnesium and antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E.

Animals that end up as meat at the store do not have a pleasant life.  They are kept confined, and denied veterinary care.  They are mutilated without slaughtered while fully conscience.  The photographs of these living conditions are horrid.  The farm is simply not what it used to be.

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.

Vegetarianism or Veganism? Religion or Health? Is it all Hype or Does Veganism have True Benefits? Finally Exposed! Are you a vegetarian by choice or is it due to your religions beliefs?” That is one question that I frequently ask when I come across a vegetarian.  Many people could never fathom how their meals would be like should there not be beef, chicken, pork or seafood.

However, through the years, things have changed. With my hectic lifestyle and to manage the expectations of a self obsessed calorie watcher, I find myself picking up the following items on a regular basis when I do my grocery shopping; tofu, mushrooms, baby carrots, lettuce, tempeh and legumes. I don’t pick meat as I will need to think of how to season and cook them. I substitute rice with Tofu as they are an excellent source of protein, are a form of complex carbohydrates which are healthier and ideal for dieters like me and are rich in iron, calcium and Vitamin B. Firm tofu which is also known as Tau Kwa is my favourite ingredient in a vegetable curry. Tofu is a great substitute for vegetarians as there is plenty of calcium. Now, let’s get to know a little bit more about Tempeh. It tastes a little nutty probably from the fermentation process and yields great benefits. Firstly, it is easily digestible. People that have a hard time digesting plant based soy food will find this easy on the digestive system. It has a high fibre content that fulfils one’s daily requirements.

Vegan Benefits that Make a World of Difference: When Living without Animal Products Goes Right

When most people think of vegans (pronounced vee-guns), they imagine someone subsisting on sprouts and lentil stew. But veganism is a rich lifestyle that encompasses not just diet but a host of choices that an individual makes to reduce cruelty toward animals and harm to the environment.

Vegans avoid any food, clothing, or other products that use or harm animals. Like vegetarians, vegans don’t eat meat, chicken, or fish but they take it a step further and steer clear of all animal products or byproducts. That means no milk, eggs, or honey in the refrigerator. It means no clothes or furniture that contain wool, down, silk, leather or fur. It also means no soap, shampoos, cosmetics or other personal products that are tested on animals.

Why Vegans Do It – The True Benefits of Veganism – What they don’t Want you to Know!

Before I say anything about how great it is to be a vegan, I want to stress how important it is to educate yourself about the food you choose to eat.  Save millions.  Become your own doctor.

No matter what “ism” or “vore” you decide on, try learning about the nutrients your body needs and what foods your body can get them from.  Remember that you are the only one who can hear the messages your body is trying to send to you.  Listen to the messages your body is sending.

When you are hungry, your stomach lets you know.  When you are thirsty, your mouth will become dry.  This is your body’s way of saying, “Hydration Please!”  If you ate greasy French fries, your stomach may let you know, perhaps in the form of heartburn.  When you eat healthy food, like a plate of steamed dark leafy greens, your body will let you know.  You may start feeling better and more energized.  Now of course you can get suggestions from people and books about what food is “good for you,” but it ultimately comes down to having a conversation with your own body.  Experiment until you find the types of foods that make you feel good.

Vegan and Vegetarian Living IS for Everyone – Even your Mother!

“Super size me”, “I’ll take a whopper, please hold the pickles and the lettuce”, “How about a bucket of chicken from KFC kids?”  Does this sound familiar? These are some of the lines you might hear on a typical Friday or Saturday night in an American family’s household.  America thrives on fast food which is the unhealthiest food you can possibly eat. Fast food is not the only culprit we face when we decide what to eat everyday.

Why Vegans Do It

Why Vegans Do It;

The Benefits of Veganism

Before I say anything about how great it is to be a vegan, I want to stress how important it is to educate yourself about the food you choose to eat.  Save millions.  Become your own doctor. 

No matter what “ism” or “vore” you decide on, try learning about the nutrients your body needs and what foods your body can get them from.  Remember that you are the only one who can hear the messages your body is trying to send to you.  Listen to the messages your body is sending.

When you are hungry, your stomach lets you know.  When you are thirsty, your mouth will become dry.  This is your body’s way of saying, “Hydration Please!”  If you ate greasy French fries, your stomach may let you know, perhaps in the form of heartburn.  When you eat healthy food, like a plate of steamed dark leafy greens, your body will let you know.  You may start feeling better and more energized.  Now of course you can get suggestions from people and books about what food is “good for you,” but it ultimately comes down to having a conversation with your own body.  Experiment until you find the types of foods that make you feel good.                 

After switching to a vegan diet, many report having stronger immune systems.  On top of being more resistant to the common cold, vegans are less likely to die from heart disease.  Vegans tend to avoid foods containing pesticides, preservatives and chemicals.  While going organic sounds expensive, it is actually a cheaper alternative to cancer and type 2 diabetes.  Oh, and you get to save the environment while your at it.

Lots of vegans do it for the environment.  Raising a chicken here and a cow there can be good for the environment.  Raising 50,000 acres of hogs on one ranch is not so good for the environment, and has the potential to produce more waste than the entire city of Los Angeles.  Animal waste is only one aspect of the detrimental effects of factory farming on the environment.  Precious resources like land, water, and food are necessary to raise livestock.  If you’d like to end world hunger, hear this now; five loaves of bread could be made out of all the resources it takes to get one hamburger!  Not one cow, one single hamburger patty.  Imagine telling that to the skinny kid on the poverty commercial.     

Some vegans do it for human rights.  Estimates of 25 million people go hungry in the United States every day.  If Americans reduced their meat intake by 5%, guess how many people we could feed?  Yup, pretty much all of those 25 million who currently go hungry.

Most vegans do it for the animals.  Here is the simplest way I can put it; if you can still eat bacon after viewing the PETA video, “Meet Your Meat,” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4) your heart must be numb.  These 12 minutes of video could change your life, or at least what you eat.   

I love Being Vegan. Here’s Why! Benefits, Benefits, Benefits!

Maybe you’ve been wanting to pursue a cruelty-free lifestyle. Maybe you’re trying to reduce your carbon footprint. Maybe you want an alternative to factory farming, tainted food, and a food-production system out of balance—or maybe you just want to be healthier and lose weight. For all of these, going vegan might be the path for you.

Vegans have made a conscious choice to eliminate all sources of animal products in their life, from shoe leather to butterfat to hot dogs. Instead, through a carefully-designed diet, they get all of their required protein and all necessary clothing through plants. It’s a kinder life, a gentler life, and a much more sustainable life. It’s also a life with a lot fewer calories and a lot more vitamins and antioxidants.

The first and most basic benefit of veganism is health. People who eat a vegan diet—no meat or fish, no eggs, no cheese, no milk—have less heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Their blood pressure is lower, as is their cholesterol level. They have less colon cancer, prostate cancer, and diabetes, and the way they achieve this better health is simple: fruits and vegetables. Vegans are far more likely to be getting more of their daily recommended allowance of fiber, magnesium, potassium, folates, and the antioxidants vitamin C and vitamin E; they’re also taking in far less of the unhealthy saturated fats, salt, and sugars that typify the standard American diet.

Find Out the Health Benefits Awaiting Those with a Vegan Lifestyle – It’s Not what you Might Think

People might adopt a vegan lifestyle for several different reasons. Considering the variety of benefits of such a choice, the range of reasons for vegan living should not be surprising. Most vegans have a specific goal in mind when adopting a new diet free of animal products, but no matter what their main goal might be, every new vegan will reap all types of benefits. For example, those who simply want to lose weight also tend to feel healthier and gain peace of mind once they start their vegan diet. It is important to consider the array of benefits of going vegan before making the decision.

 Health food stores are popping up on every corner, quickly filling up our streets and newspaper ads. Grocery stores are struggling to stay in the battle, filling their shelves with alternative, healthy versions of the food they sell. Movies like Fast Food Nation and Supersize Me are unveiling the hidden dangers behind the diets we have previously enlarged our bellies with. Yet one of our healthy contenders in the diet realm remains largely unnoticed. Veganism.

  Meat products are gaining notoriety as a source of diseases and obesity. The use of synthetic sex hormones and sometimes horrendous meat additives have caused America’s commercial meat industry to become no more than a villain in the world’s eyes, preying upon America’s consumers. It’s additives have been associated with five different types of cancer, including seemingly unassociated cancers of the breast and lung. This has caused it to be banned by the European Economic Council, who would like to protect the people of their countries from America’s deadly profit maker.

  Red meat has long been recognized as a source of heart disease, high blood pressure, and colon cancer. It is well known that it is full of fat and cholesterol. Most believe, however, that lean meats are free from these types of risks and diseases. This is mistaken. New studies have shown that people who ate little to no red meat, but consumed white meat every day, had very little difference from a red meat eater. So what should you do about this?Don’t be despaired, another source of protein was included in the study. According to Dr. Fuhrman, from the book Eat to Live,

“Those who avoided red meat but at white meat regularly had a more than 300 percent increase in colon cancer incidence. The same study showed that eating beans, peas, or lentils, at least twice a week was associated with a 50 percent lower risk than never eating these foods.”

The hero has arrived.Beans, peas, and lentils are staples in a vegan diet. They provide the same amount of protein as meat, without any of the harmful side effects. In fact, a vegan diet has been shown to eliminate cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and reduce saturated fats. A vegan diet prevents many diseases, including three types of cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, and eye diseases.

  If that isn’t enough, consider the physical benefits. Vegans generally have a lower body mass index than non-vegans, and a switch to veganism almost always leads to a dramatic weight loss in overweight men and women. The benefits of a diet rich in vitamin E and A is shown in the hair, skin, and nails. While eliminating meat and dairy products directly contributes to better body odor, breath, and even a decrease in migraines.

A vegan diet will make you healthier, thinner, and even more attractive. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to avoid those nasty cancers. Don’t wait for the health food stores to start piling into your driveway, step inside one today. Your body will thank you.

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.

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.

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.

Veganism – It’s a Lifestyle – Your Life, Your Choice

A Date Turned Vegan: Educational and Enlightening to Boost Your Spirits. So, your son is bringing his girlfriend home for the weekend.  He’s completely smitten with her, and he can’t wait for her to meet his family.  You think she might be “the one.”  He’s raved about what a great cook his mom is, and wants to show off her skills.  It sounds like a perfect opportunity to welcome a new member of the family, right?  There’s just one catch: your son’s beloved is a vegan, and she’s coming to visit dedicated meat-and-potatoes folks.

Your first thought is, of course, “What am I going to feed her???”  Salads are great, but they get boring very quickly.  Eggs, right?  Nope, no omelettes or pancakes for breakfast.  Cheese, that’s it, I can serve cheese!  No, sorry … no cheese.  No butter, no milk, not even honey … vegans will eat no animal products whatsoever.  Admittedly, you are tempted to let out a primal scream.  But as you start poring through cookbooks and doing some research on the vegan diet, you are amazed not only by the health benefits, but also by the surprising variety in what seems at first to be a very restrictive system of eating.

How to “Go Green” and Save More!

Amazing Natural Herbs for Energy Only – A Healthy Way for a Pick-Me-up!

Going Vegan in Today’s Fast-food,  Meat-Eating Industrialized Social Experiment

A Vegan lifestyle can be a simple way to improve your body, budget and the planet. The benefits of a Vegan diet include a diet filled with fiber, rich in natural vitamins and minerals from fruits, vegetables and anti-oxidant plant oils. The cost of living both for the consumer and the planet also drops. This basic way of eating is sustainable  because farmers grow crops and produce energy through plant food products and then animal products. Our grocery bill can be cut drastically when we cut out this second step of animal food production and rely on the energy plants provide. On many levels the economic and health aspects of Vegan eating just make good common sense.

In fact, it is surprising how many of us live a lifestyle that is nearly vegan without knowing it. If you eat oatmeal with fruit for breakfast, enjoy high- protein soy milk, have a peanut- butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread and an apple for lunch, maybe baked beans or stir fry with rice and broccoli for dinner, you are already half- way to being a vegan – without even realizing how much you prefer vegan dishes!.

The need for more fiber, found in basic fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes in our diet today has changed how we shop and cook- even down to airline menus and fast food menus that now offer tasty salads and fruit options.

With an economic downturn affecting the way we shop and cook, it is now possible to save hundreds of dollars on food, bringing us back to the basics- for our health and our family budget. The variety of protein-rich and low- priced dry beans available in any supermarket is quite surprising. These staples of Vegan cooking are also easy to make: soak a few cups of beans overnight and turn on the crock pot while you are at work. A healthy Vegan lifestyle is surprisingly easy once you have some basic foods stocked in your kitchen.

Vegan diets generally omit dairy products such as cheese, milk and butter as well as eggs, fish, meat and chicken. The reasons for doing so are complex and may even change in the course of an individual’s vegan career. Some people begin experimenting as vegetarians and find they do not miss meat at all. The step to avoiding dairy and eggs can sometimes involve a food sensitivity on many levels- feeling better, healthier, less congested when these things are removed from the diet. Others feel strongly that the plant kingdom supplies all the nutrition we need as humans by processing sunlight and water with minerals from the earth and air.

Another reason to take up a Vegan diet comes from the principle of protecting animal life and animal rights. The idea of taking an animal life, removing honey from the honey comb or eggs (chicks) away from a broody hen makes a good argument for eating food based on plant production. As a source of energy for humans, animals represent an extra step, since the cow eats the grass and grains first, then we eat the cow. Humans can consume the grains, saving the planet from a large and unnecessary production cost.

Healthcare for Free – Vegan Lifestyles Provide a free from of Preventative Healthcare

Are YOU interested in YOUR Health? If not, stop reading and go on to something else, as what follows won’t be of interest to you. Otherwise . . .

What are your ‘Heath Goals?’ If they include the loss of weight; lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol; possibly reducing the necessity, expense or use of medications; feeling more energized; perhaps taking on a ‘more healthy glow’; or maybe you are interested in avoiding possible surgeries and potential cancer threats. There is NO MAGIC PILL to accomplishing these health goals, and any recommendations should be reviewed with your doctor, BUT, consider the following.

The world of “Diet Fashion” has resulted in an untold number of publications and gimmicks on healthcare and diets. And there is usually a nominal cost associated with these remedies and systems.

“Veganism” has been around longer than any other diet known to man. Basically, it requires an individual to eat healthy foods. Veganism goes back in history to when nature first created fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts.

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?

Vegan Lifestyle Decreases Health Risks

The stereotypical image of vegans as hemp-wearing hippies protesting at animal rights’ rallies has come a long way since the movement first became realized in the 1940s and heightened with the counter culture movement of the 1960s. Today, nearly 2.8 percent or approximately 8.5 million of the U.S. adult population currently subscribe to a vegetarian lifestyle, according to a 2006 poll conducted by the Vegetarian Journal.

Understanding the significance of a vegan lifestyle means more than the simple act of cutting out meat and dairy products from the daily diet. Vegan living is an opportunity for individuals to reinvent themselves particularly in their philosophies and politics as well as on the plate.