Ageless Raw Vegan

This is amazing!  I stumbled across this clip today & thought I’d share it.  Reason #689 why I’m veg!  Enjoy.

“One can measure the greatness and the moral progress of a nation by looking at how it treats its animals.”   Mahatma Gandhi

Vegetarians Explained

A vegetarian is usually defined as someone who doesn’t eat meat. But someone who is vegetarian could conceivably eat dairy products such as milk, eggs and cheese. A ovo-lacto vegetarian doesn’t eat meat, fish or poultry, but does, in fact, consume eggs, milk and cheese. Likewise, a lacto vegetarian consumes milk and cheese products, but won’t consume egg products.

Many people think of vegetarians as homogeneous group that simply doesn’t eat any kind of meat. Frankly, it’s just not the case here.  There’s different categories of vegetarians, as diverse as the reasons for going vegetarian in the first place.

Within the vegetarian community, there’s an array of opinions, differences, preferences and ethics. Fruitarians, for example, will only eat fruit. Their rationale is that fruits, including tomatoes, are self-perpetuating and do not need to be planted in order to generate the food which they source. This type of vegetarians think about this as a way of eating what is most in balance and harmony with the earth, the most natural; taking what nature offers.

A vegan is someone who does not consume any kind of animal product or by-product, including dairy food (and dairy by-products).   Vegans, strictly eat only vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and legumes. They also refrain from using animal products, such as leather, silk and wool. Most strict and sincere vegans will also not consume white or refined sugar because it’s mostly processed and filtered with charred animal bones (which makes the sugar white).

The more restrictive you choose to be with your diet, most times, the more educated you are required to become to be about what you’re putting into your body.  This results in a  positive realization about getting all the necessary proteins and vitamins that you require to maintain optimal nutrition, muscle and heart health.

All of the above will eat any cooked vegetables, fruits and legumes. There is also a growing movement towards eating only raw or living foods. This diet is based on the assumption that cooking food tend to process most of the nutrients out of it.  In order to get all of the full nutritional value, vitamins and amino acids from food,  it’s best consumed raw, or juiced. If cooked at all, it ought to only be cooked to slightly over 100 degrees, so the nutrients are still retained.

Whichever you choose, it’s a good idea to be keenly aware of what you’re putting into your body; being aware of the ethical and nutritional implications.  A healthy diet always consists of an array of color and variation is important.  Be sure to include proteins, antioxidants, simple carbohydrates.  When in doubt, it’s always best to do further research, find a local nutritionist, or health professional.

You Really Are What You Eat

Recent dietary research has uncovered 14 different nutrient-dense foods that time and again promote good overall health.  Coined “superfoods,” they tend to have fewer calories, higher levels of vitamins and minerals, and many disease-fighting antioxidants.

Beans (legumes), berries (especially blueberries), broccoli, green tea, nuts (especially walnuts), oranges, pumpkin, salmon. soy, spinach, tomatoes, turkey, whole grains and oats, and yogurt can all help stop and even reverse diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and some forms of cancer. And where one might have an effect on a certain part of the body, it can also affect the health of other body functions and performance, since the whole body is connected.  With these 14 foods as the base of a balanced, solid diet, weight loss gimmicks and other fly-by-night programs can become a thing of the past in your life.

Conversely, the ill-effects of an unbalanced diet are several and varied. Low energy levels, mood swings, tired all the time, weight change, uncomfortable with body are just a few signs that your diet is unbalanced.  An unbalanced diet can cause problems with maintenance of body tissues, growth and development, brain and nervous system function, as well as problems with bone and muscle systems.

Symptoms of malnutrition include lack of energy, irritability, a weakened immune system leading to frequent colds or allergies, and mineral depletion that can trigger a variety of health concerns including anemia.

And since the body is connected, realizing that an unhealthy body will result in an unhealthy spirit only makes sense.  When we nourish our body with these superfoods and complement them with other nutrient-dense and healthy fresh foods, our spirit will be vitalized and healthy as a direct result.

Many modern diets based on prepackaged convenience foods are sorely lacking in many vitamins and minerals, which can affect our mental capacities as well, and cause irritability, confusion, and the feeling of ‘being in a fog’ all the time.

Superfoods can be the basis of a sound, healthy, nutritious solution to curing many of these ailments and more.
Edited:  Kyle Quandel