Animals are intelligent, probably more than we are on different levels.

Calorie Restriction Vs. Protein Restriction

 

 

What’s wrong with this Baby?

It’s not a sick baby.
It’s not a deformed baby.
It doesn’t have a weird disorder.
It’s an orangutan baby!

Isn’t it amazing how close we are to these creatures? We have so many similar traits as every other ape species. If we share so many genetics, DNA, looks, ect. with these animals then why are we told to be eating a different diet than what our species naturally eats?

Lets look at other species.

The Equidae.
What do zebras eat? A variety of grasses.
What do wild North American horses eat? A variety of grasses.

The Felidae
What do tigers eat? A variety of animals.
What do cheetahs eat? A variety of animals.
What do lions eat? A variety of animals.

So why is it that we are told to eat more meat? We’re not much different than our closest animal relatives. Our closest relatives eat a large variety of fruits and vegetables. So why, just why is it that we are designed by natures like these primates but we are told to not eat like them?
True we are told to eat more veggies and fruit. But as the years go on and the meat and dairy industry collect more money, some of that money is going to to into ways to convince people to buy more product. There are several studies backed by the meat and dairy industry claiming that it is “good” for you and optimal for weight loss and management (since obesity is becoming a big epidemic).

The main claim that the studies show is how protein makes the body work harder to turn it into energy. Which is good for weight loss because in theory you are burning more calories to convert protein into glucose. This part is true, but why would you make your body, an engine, try to run on something it can’t run on unless it converts it into usable energy? Isn’t that a waste of precious energy than can go towards more useful bodily functions like hair growth and body repair?

I’m posting a video after this in my next post about calorie restriction vs protein restriction for longevity/health that kind of ties into this post.

That Sh!t ain’t Vegan: Sugar

Over the past few decades (and more to come), several studies have revealed the dangers of excessive sugar consumption. From tooth decay and cardiovascular disease to type II diabetes and obesity. These reasons should provide you with enough evidence for everyone to make better decisions about their sugar consumption, but there exists a cruel factor so cruel it never makes it to the ingredient list.

Why Is Bone Char Used?

A few centuries ago, sugar refineries discovered that bone char from cattle would perfectly whiten sugar to the perfect “pure” crystallized sweetness. Because you know, everyone wants pure food, at least back in the day they did.

Refined white sugar, the sugar everyone is told to avoid, gets filtered through bone char (or “natural charcoal”), granulated carbon, or ion exchange system (American Sugar Refining owns in Yonkers, NY. Involves liquid sugar that cannot be refined with bone char). The filter’s work through the absorption process, shifting out inorganic debris thus changing the sugar’s color. Bone char is simply ground up cow bones.

Now don’t switch over to brown sugar just yet, it’s not any better than the white stuff. It goes through the same exact process except molasses is added to give it a brown “natural” color, change the flavor and give it a different texture. Now not all brown sugar is processed this way, it’s best to do some research first.

Even if you are not vegan doesn’t mean you shouldn’t let this knowledge slip through your fingers. The FDA prohibits the use of bones from the United States’ meat industry due to health concerns. The bones are also required to come from animals that die of natural causes. In theory this makes sense, but the reality of life is that bone char is imported from other countries. And other country policy’s doesn’t guarantee it came from a cow or died from natural causes. Besides that all refined sugar loses all nutritional value as a result from heating, chemical treatment, filtration, and crystallization.

 

 Does that mean ALL sugar is made this way?

There is good news, you can still get good quality sugar without the knowledge of what has happened to it. You can check out:

• 100% Beet Sugar
• Maple Suryp
• Agave Nectar
• Sugar in the Raw
• Bob’s Red Mill Date Sugar
• Organic Turbinado Raw Cane Sugar
• Organic Sugars
• just to name a few…..

You can also check out these websites:

vrg.orgpeta.com

Just remember, it’s a matter of awareness and research.

Sh!t We Vegans Hear From Stupid Meat Eaters

Where do you get your protein?

Congratulations, you just asked the question everyone asks. The most asked question we vegans get, be prepared to get knowledgeable answers. Protein is found in grains, greens, fruit….*gasp*

Soo, what can you eat?

Whatever I want. Just like some of you are grossed out about green things I’m grossed out about putting dead rotting animals in my body.

Veganism is so expensive.

I don’t know about you but lentils are $1 a bag, buying fruit in season is incredibly cheap. Making my own seitan from vital wheat flour (high protein flour for you protein junkies, still cheaper than chicken!) has cost me 7 dollars for the whole bag that I can make over 20 servings. I can find canned beans for under a dollar, and dry for even cheaper. Veggies are cheap if you shop at the right store. While chicken can cost 5 dollars for a small bag with less servings in it.  If you ask me, meat is the more expensive, not vegetables.

You’re vegan? Great! I’ll make fish.

Wait, since when was fish NOT an animal? What is it then? I swimming magical onion, tomato, pear????

Eggs are considered dairy?

Pass me the dictionary so I can show you the definition of “EGG”.

I’m like a vegan, I only eat free range.

Um…..that makes no sense……you’re still eating an animal.

I’m a lacto-ovo-pesco-pollo-carne-vegetarian.

Why don’t you just call yourself a meat eater, don’t try to make your lifestyle sound super special now.

I’d be vegan but I can’t live without steak.

I’d quit smoking if I can’t live without nicotine… that’s what you sound like.

Are you gay too?

How does my dietary lifestyle tell you me sexual preference?

If we didn’t eat animals first, then they would eat us.

I’m pretty sure a cow is dreaming about a human BBQ right now.

Do you eat animal crackers?

*palmface**palmface**palmface* I’m not even going to go there.

But cows need to be milked.

Cows need to be milked because humans force them into that state.

My food eats your food.

Have you ever wondered what they eat? They get pumped hormones, tons of hormones. And they eat not only crops, but dead animal mixed into their feed. Also some animals, like pigs, practice cannibalism on each other. So your food eats itself.

My food shits on your food.

Ok thanks for showing your immaturity level. Besides, animal shit is great fertilizer. Also your food eats that fertilized shit grown plant anyways.

What are you, a rabbit?

Yuuuup, I hop around like one and everyone thinks I’m cute.

Vegetables feel pain too!

Vegetables have no nervous system or brain. Weird right? How do they live?

How many vegetables had to die for your stupid salad?

How many vegetables had to die for your stupid hamburger?

God told us to eat animals, it’s in the bible.
Bible also says thou shall not kill (Ex 20:13). It also doesn’t state anywhere in the bible to eat animals. Oh and right up front where all the important stuff is:

page 1 GEN 1:29 “Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”

Yeah, but god said, we have dominion over animals.

Are you referring to this one: GEN 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” I’m pretty sure I need to pull out a dictionary to show you domination doesn’t mean eating right?

So to not get into further religious debate (I deal with a lot of Christians where I live) If you research vegan and religion you will find other religions under veganism(or vegeterianism), here are a few: Buddism, Islam, Hinduism, Judiasm.

I knew a vegan that got really sick and ate a steak and felt better.

I know a ton of people who become vegan to cover up an eating disorder, I also know a ton of people who are new and not properly educated. I also know a ton of meat eaters who have heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, ect.

I knew a vegan and they died.

I have nothing to say to you…just a lot of pity.

But meat is sooo yummy!

So go eat road kill? Or eat human flesh? Make sure it’s uncooked and unseasoned.

I’m not a vegan but I love animals.

I’m a vegan because I hate plants.

If animals aren’t supposed to be eaten, then why are they made out of meat?

If humans aren’t supposed to be eaten, then why are they made out of meat?

If we didn’t hunt animals, the world would be over run by all the lambs and chickens and coyotes that we don’t eat.

Actually this is so false. We either breed the hell out of the ones we have in farms or we drive to extinction the ones that are not in some sort of captivity.

If I go vegan, I’ll get weak, pale and ill or vegans are hard core terrorists

What are we? Weak or terrorists? Make up your mind will ya.

Metabolic Damage vs. Efficiency

I’m going to pick at your brain today, and then maybe pick at it again. Because I’m going to write about “Metabolic Damage”/”Starvation Mode”.

Starvation mode is that little demon that everyone freaks out about when someone says “I eat 1200 calories or less“. Or metabolic damage if they are maintaining on that amount.

So what happens when you eat the lowest recommended amount (or lower) and are maintaining weight and losing at weight loss? Well your metabolism is actually becoming more “efficient“.

Let’s compare the metabolism to a car, because everyone seems to compare it to a car so cars we go. Say we compare two cars; one being 36miles per gallon and the other 46 miles per gallon. We would say the one at 46 miles per gallon would be more efficient because we are burning less gas “energy” to get more distance. Same thing happens to your metabolism, it slows down to become more efficient because its getting less energy.

Now why does this happen? Well the body goes into “survival” mode because the body’s goal is to survive. It will do whatever it can in its power to survive things like a famine, a.k.a. eating very few calories. You will see metabolic efficiency more commonly in aesthetic sports, where body image distortion runs rampant (like female distance running). But eventually they will burn out, the time frame is unknown but eventually the wall will be hit. This is because they are burning more energy than they take in, metabolism tries to slow down and keep up, but it can only slow down so much before the person’s energy levels dip.

Many are wondering “How do I restore my metabolism?”

Well it’s easier read than done. First you have to analyze yourself. How much are you eating? How many calories do you need to maintain your weight if you were to suddenly go into a coma? The doctors will tube feed you at your BMR just to keep your organs and every cell in your body functioning, so why on Earth would you eat less than what doctors are going to give you just to save your life?

Are you eating at BMR or below it? Are you eating JUST above it (Less than 20%)? If you are then you need to eat more. When you do, you will gain weight at first. Depending on how long your body was running like this will depend on how long it will take for the weight to stabilize, assuming that you don’t have any under eating days.

Once the weight stabilizes, you will either stay there (if your weight is within a healthy range) or it will come off (if you need to lose weight, not everyone falls into this category!). Another thing that could happen is if you work out you will have body recomposition take place. Your muscles will get bigger, fat will redistribute or burn off, and you may end up being smaller but still at the same weight.

NEDAwareness week

This blog isn’t all about veganism and it’s activism. I may be researching the topic myself but I want to make awareness towards a different mater that is silent. One that an individual is afraid to admit to someone’s face but will online.  This week is national eating disorder awareness. A lot of people will switch to veganism as a form of ED. I do not agree with this logic because of the stereotyping and illogical thinking it has made.

The statistics are insane:

• 50% of eating disorder cases have been diagnosed with depression.
• 1/10 eating disorders get treatment.
• 1/8 that do receive treatment don’t get the proper treatment.
• Insurance company’s don’t always cover eating disorder treatment.
• Cost per day is between $500-$1200 per day. Some people can be IP for a month to several months.
• ED has the highest mortality rate for any mental disorder, that includes suicidal mental disorders.
• Almost all children at the age of 10-11 are afraid of getting fat.
• Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives.
• Eating Disorders is not just anorexia or bulimia. There’s purging through exercise, eating and spitting out food. Even binge eating is an eating disorder because the person does not know when to stop.
• Men can also fit into the anorexic profile.
• 95% of anorexia is inbetween the ages of 12 and 25.

 

Environmental Vegan: Water

So you want to save on water? The obvious would be to change things like your shower head and shower less. Let’s drop some facts:

Taking a bath uses 40-50 gallons of water while a 10 minute shower installed with a “low-flow” shower head will use 15 gallons or 50 gallons with a normal shower head.

OR you could go extreme and take less showers. It’s been shown that frequent showering can harm your skin. So go ahead and skip a day…or two…or week.

Ok so you got the easy basics of smelling socially unacceptable yet being an environmentalist down. So here’s some omnomnom vegan facts:

The amount of water it takes to produce the average American diet is around 1,000 gallons per person per day. That is more than the global average of 900 gallons of water per person per day including all the following: diet, household use, transportation, energy, and consumption of material goods.

ONE Quarter Pounder is worth taking 30 showers. That’s a month worth of bathing! So you could basically not shower for a month and eat a quarter pounder to make up for it.

Poultry costs 90 gallons of water to produce per serving.

1 Potato uses 24 liters to make. That’s about 6 gallons of water.

1 Pound of rice uses 28 gallons of water to produce. One pound of Beef uses over 2500 gallons.

The production of Pork also is a major cause of water pollution…if you didn’t know.

Farming already uses 70% of water consumption available to humans, which is a direct competition to city water. As meat consumption increases, so does the need for water.

So it’s really that simple. Just cut out meat and switch to a better shower head and shower less frequently (just not socially unacceptable) and you will already be making a dent in water conservation.

I tried to be a Vegan, but then I had a protein deficiency.

Nope, not at all. There isn’t even a medical term for it. I know a lot of vegans will say “if you think it’s a protein deficiency, it’s not. It’s probably something else.” This is true, but no one really goes into it because there’s a lot to discuss.

Edema – fluid retention.

Honestly I have been there. But this was because I was eating junk and not eating enough calories. Once I started eating more healthier food it went away. This also happens when you reintroduce carbs back into your diet. Because carbs retain water and bodybuilders and models will see it as the devil, it snuck its way into our society and we now think that retaining any sort of water weight means we’re not functioning properly.

Edema is usually because of several things: not eating enough; not drinking enough water, just like “starvation” mode, the body will hold onto water because it thinks there is a famine; possibly symptoms of heart failure, kidney disease and liver disease; high salt intake, not getting enough potatssium.

Fainting or Weakness – usually the first sign that shows up within a month.

This is usually due to under eating.  It’s also a nutrient deficiency such as Iron. Aannnnddd I diet based off of junk.

Weight Loss – from muscle wastage

Seriously? Muscle wastes away because of under eating. Sure eating high protein and low calorie (and take vitamins loophole) can help preserve some of that muscle (or so they say…), but why would you deprive yourself from the nutrients? In fact you’ll lose water weight first, then fat and muscle. But you’re just setting yourself up for long term failure.

Thinning hair, brittle nails – because hair is made out of protein

True but nope, my hair is currently growing like a weed and getting thicker. My hair DID fall out by the end of the first week, but I was eating 1200 calories at the time and not exactly getting the right foods in.  Thinning hair is because the person is deficient in Iron, Vitamin E, Magnesium, Copper, Vitamin D, and Selenium (or the hereditary factor).

Ridges and White Lines in Nails

This is not a protein deficiency but a deficiency in nutrients. It is usually a sign of a person who eats a lot of junk food.

Pale Skin

Another nutrient deficient diet that is the same with thinning hair. Glowing skin can easily be obtained from all fruits and veggies, water, nuts, and flax seeds. Here’s some more easy tips.

Bloated Stomach Look – reread Edema then read this

Have you seen a Buddhist Monk? Someone who practices Buddhist tradition are vegans because they believe in no violence. Now look up a typical bloated starving African, who is malnurished. They call this symptom Kwashiorkor, not getting enough protein-calories. A study on twins has debunked this protein deficiency by playing around with gut bacteria. Gut bacteria can change how a person absorbs iron, zinc and vitamins from their food, and have been linked to obesity.

Don’t restrict calories as a vegan.

Just don’t do it. It’ll only make you suffer and fatter in the long run. Here’s some reasons why you shouldn’t restrict calories as a vegan and why you should eat whole foods.

Restricting Calories can make you FATTER

From personal experience, it CAN. I had a nice 4 pack (I’m a girl, 6 packs are harder for girls m’kay) and over the course of a year it started to disappear and replace with what looked like cellulite. Omg, gross right? Here’s what was going on:

Restricting calories over a long period of time puts your body into survival mode (the body wants to live, not die). Your body is breaking down muscle mass to produce energy, so every chance it gets it will put a few extra calories back in reserve, aka your fat stores.

Restricting Calories causes you to burn less fat

In theory, you burn more calories than you eat and you will lose weight. So those who are wanting quick results will restrict to an extreme, thinking they’ll lose weight faster. If you restrict your intake too much your body will basically go into shock and start breaking down muscle tissue in order to produce the energy it needs to survive. So your body is burning more muscle, not fat.

It encourages you to eat processed packaged foods

Counting calories is easy when there is a label slapped on it. Pretty much all processed/packaged food contains a label. All processed and packaged food is striped of vital nutrients your body needs. Stick to whole foods and you will feel more energized to do things and more motivated to exercise. Processed/packaged foods also contains less volume. It tells your stomach that you need less food. They also contain a lot of sodium, which puffs you out. So when you gain weight on the scale it is most likely water weight.

It will mess with your head

You will become stressed, obsessive, and maybe a bit crazy. Stressing over food labels, not enjoying food, feeling guilty because you went 100 calories over your limit. Stress makes you fat by the way.

Not All Calories are created equal

A calorie is unit of food energy. That’s just it.

However, calories don’t tell you the amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that the food contains. Here’s an example:

A Snickers bar has around 250 calories, 36 Almonds have 250 calories. Both have a lot of fat content in them, but the almonds contain more healthy fats for the body. Snickers has more processed carbs in them, the almonds have unprocessed carbs that contain a bonus of fiber. Snickers bar has almost zero protein, almonds have a better source of protein.