Recently, Oprah did a show about 378 members of her staff going vegan for a week. One week of vegan eating isn't much in a lifetime of poor eating habits, but it's something. What small improvements did a vegan diet make to the staffers' health in that short period of time?
It's my contention that anyone eating the standard American diet eats far too much protein, sugar and salt, takes in too many calories and doesn't eat enough fruits and vegetables. So, right away, the balance between protein from meat, fish and dairy and the intake of vegetables shifted for Oprah's staffers in a positive direction. Even the government now says we need more plant foods in our diets.
The standard American diet is also low in fiber. That's why Americans can't poop. The staff testimonials included several people saying they were in the bathroom a lot more than usual. Others reported weight loss and an increase in energy. We don't think about it, but digesting food uses energy. Digesting meat in particular takes a lot of energy. Why are energy drinks so popular? Because everyone feels sluggish after a nice, hearty, meat-based lunch.
Some of the diet-related changes not reported but possibly noticed include a change in skin condition, improved body odor and better breath. Just releasing a small amount of the toxins we accumulate from diet and the environment can improve skin color and tone and reduce body odors and bad breath. That's a pleasant thought.
There are also the negative things the staffers avoided for a week, like saturated fats and cholesterol. They reduced their risk of E. coli and salmonella infections. They were not taking in hormones, antibiotics or mercury from the cows, chickens and fish we consume. They also probably noticed that they didn't bloat after meals and were less likely to overeat. A high fiber diet and the fact that you actually have to chew your food leads to a feeling of satisfaction before you've consumed too much.
I hope that many of the people who participated in this experiment noticed at least some of these positive effects and wanted to continue. It's great that the people of Harpo took this on and reported their results to the audience. Let's continue the dialogue; we need to stop leaving it to the food manufacturers and the pharmaceutical companies and remember that we are responsible for our own health and well-being.
Mark Hyman, MD: Grass-Fed Fish?
Kathy Freston: The Steps to Becoming a Veganist
This innovative study, which asked vegans to simply report their own experiences, demolishes six myths on plant-based eating. 97% of vegans enjoy their food and 94% want to stay on a plant-based diet forever. As the obesity epidemic grows and heart disease and type 2 diabetes remains leading killers in developed countries, survey results may encourage people to adopt healthy eating choices.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/03/prweb5117534.htm
Many may disagree, but the offence was to kill, that which God himself had created, the animals,or as to say, "His pets" who he intended us to share this world with, in harmony and peace. It is specified that we take fruits, herbs and seeds as food.
This has been on my mind, I know not much of Christian ways, But "The Essenes"(Posted bellow) tells a different story of Christ, than commonly believed, in fact Christ was a vegetarian.
Which makes so much sense. The Buddhist, Hindus,Taoist and the Christians, are all of the same mind, which points to a common belief, that in the most ancient times, we all believed that "All Life is Sacred" !
And I distantly remember as a child, images of Christ surrounded by all kinds of animals, like the wild animals who have never been hunted.
In regions where wild animals have never been hunted, they show no fear of man, that's how nature intended. Animals have learned to fear us, it was never in their nature.
Each of them had an individuality of his own, a will of his own, a hope and a heart's desire; each was full of self-confidence, of self-importance, and a sense of dignity.
And trusting and strong in faith he had gone about his business, the while a black shadow hung over him, and a horrid Fate in his pathway. Now suddenly it had swooped upon him, and had seized him by the leg.
Relentless, remorseless, all his protests, his screams were nothing to it. It did its cruel will with him, as if his wishes, his feelings, had simply no existence at all; it cut his throat and watched him gasp out his life."
Upton Sinclair (The Jungle)
Join Leo, the young pig who wonders if he is "the one", Chickity, the feathered family farm defender, and Moopheus, the trench-coat-clad cow with a passion for green pastures as they expose the problems with factory farming while making the world safe for sustainable family farms.
http://www.themeatrix.com/
"For of the fruits of the trees and the seeds of the herbs alone do I partake".
The main Essene scripture is the Gospel of the Holy Twelve, rediscovered in 1888 and translated from the Aramaic by Rev. Gideon Jasper Ouseley. This version of the New Testament differs markedly from those generally accepted in that it portrays Jesus as a strict vegetarian, to whom other creatures flocked:
"And the birds gathered around him and welcomed him with their song and other living creatures came unto his feet and he fed them and they ate out of his hands."
The feeding of the human multitude is also reported, but the food involved is bread and grapes. Of the animals, it states:
"These are your fellow creatures of the great household of God, yea they are your brethren and sisters, having the same breath of life in the Eternal. And whosoever careth for one of the least of these, and giveth it to eat and drink in its need, the same doeth it unto me."
The Essenes believe in the sacredness and unity of all life and many passages in the Essene gospel refer to the doctrine of boundless love: for God, for humanity and for all creation: "Before all things is love, love ye one another and all the creatures of God, and by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples."
Many people feel drawn to advocate for animals because even though they can feel pain and suffer just as we do, they do not have a way to advocate for their own welfare. In fact, animals are viewed by many as nothing more than property to be treated however the owner wishes. This view has created an inhumane situation for billions of animals that share our world.
And what gives us the right to kill others who evolved and share this world with us. In my heart they are my brothers, and it is our universal duty to preserve life. My soul screams when I hear them plead as best as they can for their lives to be spared, for only their words to fall on your deaf ears, to you they have no voice, to us they speak volume's.
How is it we know that they wish to live, for the same reason we all wish to live, to be, to exist. That is the driving force of life itself, to flourish, to enjoy the physical realm, this universe, for the brief moments we all have. The Milky Way takes 250 millions years to revolved once, how much time do we all have, and to rob others of that experienceÂ, how selfish ?
Cattle and all live stock are born to hell in our world, yet we selectivelÂy choose, who to be humane to, like our pets we love so dearly, it' a shame you cannot find it in your hearts to extend that love to other higher lifeforms. Ever meet a Cow, good folks, would never do you wrong.
We speak for those, you cannot hear !
That is perfect, I love that! =0)
This is your brain on meat! Video:
http://vegansaurus.com/post/3565276655/this-is-your-brain-on-meat-i-saw-this-video
Peace, Life and Love...
Sealers routinely hook baby seals in the eye, cheek, or mouth and drag them across the ice, often while the animals are still conscious. Many of the seals killed in the massacre are only a few weeks old.
Help End the Annual Seal Slaughter
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2929
Ayla McIntosh
Mac Danzig is not just vegetarian, but pure vegan, and was the most muscular man on the show.
Danzig eats No Steak, No Fish, No chicken, No meat, no milk, no eggs, no animal products whatsoever and was the most muscular and beat all of the other steak eating fighters who all lost to the Vegan UFC fighter. http://www.flickr.com/photos/vegetarians-dominate-meat-eaters-01/5057554167/page2/
http://vegansaurus.com/post/3565276655/this-is-your-brain-on-meat-i-saw-this-video
We are all majestic creations of the cosmos.
The Karmic wheel. You can go round and round, like the rodent on the wheel, or you can move forward.
It doesn't matter how long it takes, you only advance when you learn, a few life times or thousands.
The choice is yours.
True Veganism is not about health. it's the preservation of life, which is our greatest concern.
With wisdom the body learns to sustain in ways that all may live.
Peace, Life and Love...
Look at the phylogenetÂic Tree of Life !, I'm not closely related to any plant, we are mammals, more closely related to cows, horses, dogs, cats, mice and the like(hot blooded, endothermic), all that are hemoglobin based(red blooded, iron=heme=red), placental breeders(bÂorn from a womb).
Plants are our most distant relative on the Tree of Life, so I kill plants, but you believe that slaughteriÂng mammals is better, do as you wish, kill your own kind.
I'm more related to birds, reptiles and fish, than plants. So in view of the fact, that we must eat something, I choose plants, rather than slaughter higher life forms.
But we're inherently sinful creatures, and we should all flagellate for our sinful existence by going vegan.
It is said, the five colors blind the eye, the five tones deafen the ear, the flavors dull the palate and the five physical sensations confuse the mind, and make us act like animals.
While we exist in this realm, these things(sensations)seem real, in the transition, we forget what which was before, that which is permanent.
So the temporal realm seems real, and it's pleasures seem vast, yet they are shallow, when compared to our original state, that which we have forgotten.( A Master once said, every second in Heaven, is like 10 million organisms). It is not to be taken literally, it's just an example.
This was a playground for Gods, yet in some of them grew want, and with want, they took from any and all, seduced by the physical realm, they have lost there way and behave like animals hunting
With all the sensory stimulation around, it's easy to get distracted, that's why many in the past retreated into the mountains, and into Temples...
Yet with the right lifestyle(diet/mind), one can succeed in the now, no need to go anywhere.
That is what I was taught, so as I believe...
But each Great Religion, Philosophy, has their own story, and all are of great value, to those who wish to learn.
Life is a corridor, and death is a door and behind every door, there is a corridor.
"We can not know, before we wake, that what we dream, does not exist".
"We can not know, before we die, that death is not, the greatest joy...