People are talking about it, it’s in the news, celebrities are doing it, there are books on it, and just about everyone knows a vegetarian nowadays if they are not already one themselves! But why vegetarianism? Well, people have their different reasons for steering away from meat – because its kinder to animals, better for the environment, they don’t like the taste of flesh, they simply cannot bear to eat what was once a life or because it is a healthier way to live. The latter, for the non vegetarian, generally brings on a number of concerns, questions and doubts about whether we can sustain our body on a plant based diet. For much of our lives most of us have probably been told we need iron and protein from animal flesh and calcium from dairy – to stay fit, strong and healthy! Once you look beyond this information you begin to understand why we have been misinformed. A whole load of blogs could be written on the topic of multibillion dollar corporations with vested interests, so I won’t go into it now!

But I will answer a few of those concerns that non vegetarians may have.

“Where do vegetarians get their protein from?”
Protein exists in all food (not counting junk food which just simply cannot be classed as real “food”!) Great sources of protein include – legumes, nuts, seeds and grains, but fruit and vegetables also contain protein too. Plant protein is in a form that our bodies are designed to digest, as apposed to animal protein which is designed for animal’s bodies. In human bodies consumption of animal protein raises the bloods cholesterol, contains saturated fat which clogs our arteries, and causes calcium to be leached out through the urine -  It’s a well documented fact that animal protein is linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis, just to name a few.

“Don’t we need red meat or a bucket load of spinach to get enough iron?”
The answer simply is NO! Iron is found in many fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains in plentiful amounts, and the fantastic benefit is the added vitamin C in many fruits and vegetables which aids in the absorption of iron – now you don’t find this wonderful occurrence in animals bits and pieces!

“Isn’t fish the best source of omega 3 essential fatty acids?”
Essential fatty acids can be obtained from many plant sources, flaxseed (linseed) being one of highest source of omega 3, other great sources include walnuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (pepita’s), sunflower, flax and hempseed oil, leafy greens and whole grains. All of which do not contain saturated fat, animal protein, toxins, chemicals and heavy metals which are found in fish.

From a health perspective vegetarianism is right on track, on an even straighter track is veganism – and vegan is the new vegetarian! A vegan eats a diet containing no animal products at all – no eggs, dairy, or honey. This thought can bring along another array of questions, concerns and doubts in peoples minds! All we need to do is think logically about it – A cow produces milk specifically for her calf to grow up big and strong and then the calf stops drinking the milk. If human beings were supposed to live a life drinking milk wouldn’t it make more sense we drink it from our own species? Calcium can be found in fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds – broccoli being one of the highest. So, logically thinking any other product made from milk is going to come with the same multitude of problems – high in saturated fat, cholesterol and animal protein… Why, the very disease the dairy industry claims to prevent – Osteoporosis, is actually caused by dairy, as calcium is leached out through the urine from the high content of animal protein that our bodies cannot digest.
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Eggs – what is good about them? Definitely not that they are an unfertilized baby chicken or to put it in other words – a chickens menstruation! And most certainly not that they are in fact packed with cholesterol making them a “cholesterol bomb!” our bodies have the wonderful capacity to create our own cholesterol and any excess our body accumulates comes only from animal products.

Vitamin B12 – needed in minuscule amounts in our bodies but it is VITAL. It is a bacteria found in the earth and long ago before we began excessively washing fruits and vegetables and applying chemicals and pesticides, we would get all we needed from the remainder of earth left on the outside of the fruit or vegetable, (I wonder how that tasted!). Animals that eat grass contain B12, but you would have to eat them to get it! For vegans a number of products have been fortified with B12; one great source is Nutritional Yeast Flakes – just check that it has had B12 added, this also has a nice “cheesy” flavour if that’s what you like. Or there are Vitamin B12 supplements free of animal products that you can take daily to be sure you are getting enough of this very important and friendly bacteria -  friendly as long as its not from animals!

Finally, one may say –
“What the hell is wrong with Honey?!”
Apart from the cruelty aspect (Queen bees have their wings routinely ripped off their bodies to prevent them from buzz buzz buzzing away…)  Most honey is heated to high temperatures leading to drastic changes in it’s chemical composition – just like when oils are heated at high temperatures, they become trans fatty acids and are a danger to consume.

Now I am no scientist or doctor! But, I do keep an open mind and read a lot! I am living proof of a healthy vegan and have never felt better since becoming a vegan, my skin glows, my eyes are bright and I have loads of energy, AND people tell me how much younger than my actual age I look – coincidence, I really don’t think so!

My advice to meat eating people is to begin the transition to a vegetarian and then a vegan diet, give your body and mind a little time to become used to the change, read up a little on food options, get a little creative in the kitchen and then enjoy! The food choices are endless, delicious and HEALTHY!

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