Vegetarian Information

A strict vegan abstains from consuming all dairy products but with most things in life there is not just one reason why this should be. Some refrain for nutritional reasons others for ethical reasons.

People become vegans for a variety of reasons, including ethical concerns such as animal rights and the environment, as well as more personal reasons such as health benefits and spiritual or religious concerns.

Those who become vegan for ethical reasons object strongly to the way animals are treated. They object for example to the way young animals are removed very quickly from their mothers and reared in a factory environment.

Some cite the poor treatment of dairy cows as a main reason for not consuming milk and cheese. They note that dairy cows are forced to become pregnant once each year to maintain a constantly high yield of milk. They are also fed numerous steroids to increase production.

Many vegans object to the way that calves are removed very quickly from their mothers for veal, beef or future milk production. They will point out that calves selected for veal production are often placed in crates that small that they are not able to turn around. The calf is forced to spent most of its short life facing in one direction, and is feed high doses of hormone based feed to speed up the production process.

Vegan will point to the health benefits of a vegan diet which tends to include lower levels of saturated fat, no cholesterol, and higher levels of carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, folate, antioxidant vitamins C and E and phytochemicals.

Many vegans have a problem digesting lactose or have a blood-iron or diabetic problem related to milk protein, casein. In addition to this, vegans object that milk and cheese often contain small portions of undesirable hormones that are added to dairy cow feeds to increase production.

There are also those who become vegan for environmental purposes. These vegans will argue that the production of meat by intensive agriculture and non-intensive agriculture is environmentally unsustainable. The primary environmental concerns with meat production are pollution and the prolific use of resources such as fossil fuels, water, and land.

Contrary to popular belief vegan cuisine is not new. In nations that culturally do not use a large proportion of dairy products such as China, Japan and Taiwan it has a well developed tradition that is centuries old due mainly to the influence of Buddhism.

The cuisines of most nations contain some dishes that are plant-based (and therefore suitable for a vegan diet) as are specific traditional ingredients, e.g. tofu, tempeh and the wheat product seitan in Asian diets. Also, according to Sturtivants Edible Plants of the World, 2002, there are 2,897 plants that may be used for food. Therefore, the variety of vegan food available is quite diverse.

If you are a prospective vegan, you may want to take some time now to think about what is best for you. Ask yourself whether you wanted to become a vegan for ethical reasons, dietary reasons, environmental reasons or indeed all three.

Kevin Hart lives in Armagh City, Ireland. He is a researcher and author. More articles on Vegetarianism can be found on his website at http://www.vegetarian-worldwide.com

Tags: food, meat, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarian foodfood, meat, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarian food

Share This

Posted by admin under Vegetarian Tips | No Comments »

Let’s face it: Healthy living healthy requires healthy diet.

Now, what constitutes a healthy diet?

You may agree or disagree, but it is proven that diet dominated mainly by fresh, all-natural vegetables and fruits are the healthiest.

Of late, more and more people have switched to vegetarian meals - as scientific research has shown the adverse effects of animal meat.

For example, it is proven that the most common cause of death in US is heart attack, and the risk of death from heart attack by average American is 50%, while the risk of death from heart attack by average American vegetarian is 15%; and only 4% recorded for an average American pure vegetarian.

This is because, as nutritionist explained, the high amount of animal fat present in meat, dairy and other animal products may be probable factors leading to increase of diabetes mellitus, obesity, colorectal cancer, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease, which are some how linked to heart diseases.

What the meat, dairy and egg industries don’t tell us is, besides these diseases, the following are also commonly prevented, consistently improved, and sometimes, even cured by low-fat vegetarian diet:

1. Strokes and heart disease
2. Stomach and colon cancer
3. Gallstones
4. Hypertension
5. Endometrial cancer
6. Kidney disease & stones
7. Breast cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer and ovarian cancer.
8. Hypoglycemia
9. Peptic ulcers
10. Constipation
11. Hiatal hernias
12. Diverticulosis
13. Salmonellosis
14. Trichinosis
15. Osteoporosis
16. Hemorrhoids
17. Asthma
18. Irritable colon syndrome

(Sources: The Shocking Truth And Statistic About Your Food!)

Therefore, if you want to avoid these diseases, follow as what nutritionist have long supported the health benefits of high intake of fruits and vegetables.

You maybe concern that vegetarian diet is insufficient in meeting the daily nutritional requirements.

This is not quite true…

Take for example, milk producers’ original ad campaign slogan is “Everybody needs milk” which was rebutted by the Federal Trade Commission as “False, misleading and deceptive!” The milk producer had to revise their campaign slogan to “Milk has something for everybody.“

Another case, males in US are conditioned to think food made from animal products as “manly”. Unfortunately, comparing men who eat meats, cheese, eggs and milk everyday, to men who eat these food sparingly or none at all, their risk in contracting prostate cancer is 3.6 times higher!

What else does the food industry keep hidden from you?

According to Who Health Organization, the recommended percentage of daily calories to be derived from protein is 4.5%; while the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Board and National Research Council recommended 6% and 8% respectively.

Guess what?

The percentage of calories as protein in wheat, broccoli and rice are 17%, 45% and 8% respectively. So, do you think that vegetarian diet does not give you enough of to meet the daily nutritional requirement?

If nutritional requirement is a concern, you can plan your meals to obtain the essential nutrients in replacing those gained from meat, fish and poultry. For example, you can consume diets consist mainly of fruits, vegetables, cereals and grains. In order to replace meat products, you can use nuts, lentils, eggs, peanut butter, dry beans, and peas.

If needed to, you may take vitamin and mineral supplements to ensure adequate intakes of nutrients that may only be obtained from food made from animal products.

So, for your own health, and better living - stop believing what the food industries has lied to you. And eat more vegetables, fruits, cereals and grains today!

Janice Hoo has been doing extensive research on vegetarian diet and practices. She’s now sharing her discovery in her latest e-report, “The Shocking Truth And Statistics About Your Food” which she’s currently giving away for FREE at her site: http://www.VegetarianRecipeGuide.com.

Tags: healthy diet, vegetarian, vegetarian diet, vegetarian food, vegetarian practice, vegetarian recipehealthy diet, vegetarian, vegetarian diet, vegetarian food, vegetarian practice, vegetarian recipe

Share This

Posted by admin under Vegetarian Tips | No Comments »