Vegan Wonders
What does being vegan mean?
In my program:
We will learn all of this and much more in detail that will give you the knowledge to become successful in being vegan.
We call the American diet we see today SAD (standard American diet) and is it just that, very SAD!
Years ago being vegan meant being a hippie, a free spirit, protesters and Woodstock. When I first learned of veganism, I pictured this exact thing. All I knew was that they simply did not eat meat and were protesters. It was a lack of education and knowledge that lead me to believe this stereo typical image.
However, I have learned over the past several years that it means so much more. Today the word and this lifestyle has been gaining in popularity. You see it more on book store shelves, the how to books, vegan recipe books, and vegan and vegetarian magazines, books on the health benefits and benefits to the environment and animals. There are hundreds of web sites now that are dedicated to becoming vegan as well as many documentaries and movies. More and more restaurants offer vegan options or are dedicated to vegan only. Even famous people are becoming vegan such as, Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Clinton as well as a long list of athletes such as, Brendan Brazier ultra marathoner and Robert Parish NBA Basketball player. So what does being vegan mean? Why is it now becoming more popular?
What is vegan?
Living a vegan lifestyle means that a person does not eat any animal product at all. They do not consume beef, chicken, fish, poultry, eggs, or dairy at all and some believe that includes honey. They also do not purchase or wear animal clothing such as leather or animal furniture.
Why not animal foods?
Besides the inhumane treatment of the animals that live and die on these factory farms, eating animal products has little or no health benefits. Meat and poultry have no fiber or antioxidants which are essential for keeping a healthy body. The proteins in meat are made up to enhance growth but, it also enhances tumor growth. Milk proteins called Casein have been linked to an array of illnesses including cancer according to 1,000's of credible studies. Meat is loaded with artery clogging saturated fats. Finally, most animal products today have growth hormones and antibiotics within it. Do we need any more reason?
What are the health benifits?
Whole foods such as, vegetable, fruits, grains, nuts, legumes, and seeds are full of vitamins, nutrients, minerals, anitoxidents, phytochemicals that all work in harmony to keep the body healthy and strong. These foods prevent disease and illnesses including:
heart disease
diabetes
high blood pressure
cancer
obesity
depression
allergies
and even the common flu.
You will have more energy, less memory loss, your hair and skin will be healthy, digestion will be normal, and you will have less anxiety. Also, you will be reducing your carbon foot print and not contributing to the factory farms and negative impact on the environment.