http://www.thenaturalguide.com [Video by Larry Cook--If you like it, please share it!] Eco-Vegan Gal Whitney Lauritsen shares her story of going vegetarian, then vegan, and then gluten-free, and how her health improved after each transition. She talks about weight loss, more energy, feeling better, where she gets protein, the types of food she eats, how she orders food at restaurants, shops for organic food at health food stores, compassion for animals, environmental gains, friendships and more. Visit Whitney’s website http://www.ecovegangal.com to learn more about the vegan lifestyle and what you can do to live in better harmony with yourself, the animals and our planet.
Produced by Larry Cook, author of The Beginner’s Guide to Natural Living.
http://www.thenaturalguide.com
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An intelligent talk about the philosophy and benefits of a vegetarian diet. From her own garden, Professor Donna Quesada talks about the disastrous meat industry, from misinformation about human health, to environmental destruction, and animal cruelty. March 2009.—–Follow Prof Quesada on Twitter! http://twitter.com/donnaquesada
Angus Holliday is doing a film course and as one off his assessment pieces had to do a documentary. So, he chose a topic that hits close to home.. as he was brought up as a vegetarian. He asks the question, why someone who eats meat, would turn vegetarian. What are their reasons?
http://www.youtube.com/GoRawVeganB42012
The live we want to live are right at the tips of our fingers: It’s not up to the government, your parents, your religious, your friends, your favorites restaurant, your supermarket, to make lifestyle changes critical to good health. It’s up to you Educate yourself. Don’t be a processed person.
ZHANG:
And with the current economic crisis, times are tough for people all over the world. But one restaurant chain in Melbourne, Australia is trying to lessen the burden with their unique philosophy. Here’s more from our Melbourne bureau.
STORY:
Lentil As Anything, is a unique vegetarian restaurant tucked away in almost seven hectares of what formerly was a convent in Melbourne Australia.
Its founder, Shanaka Fernando, explains how this restaurant differs from others.
[Shanaka Fernando, Restaurant Founder]:
“It’s a restaurant where you come and eat, and after you eat, if you really like it you can pay whatever you want according to what your experience was. It’s just about personal freedom and letting the forces of human nature dictate our success and failure.”
Shanaka says he came up with the concept of the restaurant as a small microcosm of his aspirations that were formed in Sri Lanka where he grew up.
Part of the Lentil As Anything experience is that people of all backgrounds and classes get to interact with each other.
[Shanaka Fernando, Restaurant Founder]:
“Generally if you are struggling with finances and you are relying on charity for food, you eat amongst people with a similar demographic, but with Lentil As Anything you can come and eat amongst the gentry and the eccentrics and the conservatives and the whole cross section of the community hopefully.”
The restaurant is a non-profit organization and Shanaka says its success can be attributed to the generosity of its patrons.
[Shanaka Fernando, Restaurant Founder]:
“The fact that rich people come and pay a little bit extra is what subsidizes the meals of the poor people who come and can’t expect to pay what they’d like to pay because of their financial circumstances. So it is the generosity that has made it a success, the response has been overwhelmingly good.”
Kyle Raftery and his friends are a few of Lentil As Anything’s regular customers who enjoy the food.
[Kyle Raftery, Customer]:
“It’s great, it’s great! I love the different combinations of things, not your usual stuff. I grabbed the chili pears today which I don’t think I’ve had before…”
Kyle also says that he likes the philosophy behind the restaurant.
Lentil As Anything has now expanded to four restaurants around Melbourne.
An intelligent talk about the philosophy and benefits of a vegetarian diet. From her own garden, Professor Donna Quesada talks about the disastrous meat industry, from misinformation about human health, to environmental destruction, and animal cruelty. March 2009.—-
Follow Prof Quesada on Twitter! http://twitter.com/donnaquesada
About this video:
When someone says they can’t be vegan because the have to “build muscle fast and need a lot of protein” they are telling you:
a) They don’t know that you CAN build muscle on a vegan diet; there are plenty of vegan protein sources, and
b) They care more about how they look than about animals, the environment, or their health. They are the kind of people who are wiling to sacrifice their own long-term health for short-term superficial gains.
So, if you want to compel them to go vegan, you have to tailor your discussion to their interests: you have to give them selfish reasons for going veg. Some ideas:
- it’s hip, cool, in style to be veg ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_RQRGciOqQ )
- only eat animals ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iACDNNtITEs )
- some of the best athletes ever were veg (like Olympic medal winner Carl Lewis: http://www.earthsave.org/lifestyle/carllewis.htm )
Books mentioned in the video:
Skinny Bitch: http://www.skinnybitch.net/
The China Study: http://www.thechinastudy.com/
Blog mentioned in the video:
Invisible Voices: http://invisiblevoices.wordpress.com/
Specific article referenced: http://invisiblevoices.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/cooking-class-at-the-yoga-studio/
Foods mentioned in this video:
quinoa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa
tempeh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh
seitan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seitan
tofu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofu
More of my videos:
http://kangarooelaine.blogspot.com/
THANKS FOR WATCHING!
PS – are you vegan or vegetarian? PLEASE make videos. Your videos will inspire others to go or stay veg. You WILL make a difference
When you first go vegetarian or vegan you might be overwhelmed by the enormous problem of animal exploitation. The reality of how our society treats animals (and farm workers and human health) is truly quite depressing and it’s normal to feel sad about it. But regardless of the normalcy of your feelings, you probably want to feel better. So.. here are some tips for overcoming depression:
1) Make sure you’re getting proper nutrition. Take a look at your diet and see if you might want to add new foods, a supplement, or fortified foods. Make sure you get a wide variety of vegan foods. Use a food diary to monitor your nutrition and to show any medical professionals. Treat your body/ your health like a scientist would treat it – keep detailed and accurate records. This can help you identify deficiencies or triggers. (Don’t necessarily trust the average doctor, though, because many haven’t had much nutrition training. Get a second opinion if your doctor says, “just eat meat” or prescribes antidepressants.)
More info on vegan nutrition:
http://www.veganhealth.org/
2) Get regular exposure to sunlight. It will get you some vitamin D (deficiency can mimic depression) and also just “getting out” helps me. It might help you, too.
Wikipedia on light therapy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_therapy
3) Get regular exercise. Besides the endorphins produced from exercise, many studies have shown exercise is just as or more effective than antidepressants and exercise doesn’t have the same negative side effects.
More info on exercise: http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression
4) Reasoned optimism: Try to find the good in every situation. Consciously try to be hopeful and optimistic. You CAN change your thought patterns for the better.
I recommend Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by Dr. Burns.
5) Find support from family, friends, and/or professionals. Get online and find a vegan forum or blog. Others know what this feels like and they can help you, at the very least they can help you not feel alone.
Try this vegan forum:
http://www.postpunkkitchen.com/forum/
6) Avoid triggers when possible. For example, if you’re upset by images of tortured animals, try to limit viewing those and try to balance that with positive images of happy animals.
These tips apply to any kind of depression, but I’ve specifically targeted them to the kind of depression that occurs with some vegans, vegetarians, and animal advocates.
In general, vegans and vegetarians are healthy people. We have lower incidences of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other ailments.
If you have high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, or if you’re overweight… even if you have cancer, it’s well worth considering eliminating meat, dairy, and eggs from your diet.
The China Study, by Colin T. Campbell, PhD.
Eat Right, Live Longer, by Neal Barnard, M.D.
Food for Life, by Neal Barnard, M.D.
The McDougall Plan, by John McDougall, M.D.
Dr. Dean Ornishs Program for Reversing Heart Disease, by Dean Ornish, M.D.
Some info about basic vegan nutrition:
http://www.veganhealth.org/
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/
My story is NOT dramatic:
When I went vegan I didn’t notice any huge changes in my health except that it was much easier to maintain my weight. I had hoped for some weight-loss, but that requires more concentrated effort. However, weight maintenance as a vegan is easy. I don’t have to watch my calories to make sure I don’t gain weight, I just have to stay vegan to make sure I don’t gain weight
But remember, I was already vegetarian when I made the switch and went vegan. So… already I was in better health than most American meat-eaters.
Regarding asthma: I had hoped for some improvement in my asthma, because “A 1985 Swedish study demonstrated that individuals with asthma practicing a vegan diet for a full year have a marked decrease in the need for medications and in the frequency and severity of asthma attacks. Twenty-two of the 24 subjects reported improvement by the end of the year.”
source:
But for me, I didn’t see a change in my asthma due to a change in diet. I did see a change in my asthma due to other things, however.
I will say this: I am very healthy. I have low cholesterol (116) and I have a healthy weight. I do NOT have diabetes, heart disease, cancer.
The MAJOR changes I’ve seen after I went vegan were psychological and emotional. I feel more in tune with myself, I’m living more in sinc with my values, I’m working more towards my goals. My life has more meaning and I feel more connected.
You are what you eat.
Not just when in regards to physical health, but also in regards to emotional and psychological health: your diet reflects your values.
If you value life, eat like you value life. Eat like you value your life and the lives of others. Go vegan.
UPDATE:
Here’s why I don’t talk about the health benefits of being a vegan: Veganism is NOT a diet. Vegans exclude certain so-called foods. There is no specific call to eat more other foods. You can be a junk-food vegan or a health-food vegan or anything in between. So there’s not accurate way to judge whether being a vegan is overall better for your health than being a nonvegan.
Certainly, there are reduced risks for certain health problems. Meat and animal products are related to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, constipation, and other illnesses.
But mostly, veganism is NOT a diet. Veganism is a lifestyle. Vegans don’t just avoid animal foods, they also avoid animal products in cosmetics and clothing. The definition of vegan is “person who seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.”
Anyone interested in veganism for purely health reasons isn’t fully understanding what veganism IS.
http://www.thenaturalguide.com [Video by Larry Cook--If you like it, please share it!] Eco-Vegan Gal Whitney Lauritsen shares her story of going vegetarian, then vegan, and then gluten-free, and how her health improved after each transition. She talks about weight loss, more energy, feeling better, where she gets protein, the types of food she eats, how she orders food at restaurants, shops for organic food at health food stores, compassion for animals, environmental gains, friendships and more. Visit Whitney’s website http://www.ecovegangal.com to learn more about the vegan lifestyle and what you can do to live in better harmony with yourself, the animals and our planet.
An intelligent talk about the philosophy and benefits of a vegetarian diet. From her own garden, Professor Donna Quesada talks about the disastrous meat industry, from misinformation about human health, to environmental destruction, and animal cruelty. March 2009.—–Follow Prof Quesada on Twitter! http://twitter.com/donnaquesada
Angus Holliday is doing a film course and as one off his assessment pieces had to do a documentary. So, he chose a topic that hits close to home.. as he was brought up as a vegetarian. He asks the question, why someone who eats meat, would turn vegetarian. What are their reasons?
http://www.youtube.com/GoRawVeganB42012
ZHANG:
An intelligent talk about the philosophy and benefits of a vegetarian diet. From her own garden, Professor Donna Quesada talks about the disastrous meat industry, from misinformation about human health, to environmental destruction, and animal cruelty. March 2009.—-
http://www.imdb.me/seansymons
Vegan Fitness/ Body Building Information:
When you first go vegetarian or vegan you might be overwhelmed by the enormous problem of animal exploitation. The reality of how our society treats animals (and farm workers and human health) is truly quite depressing and it’s normal to feel sad about it. But regardless of the normalcy of your feelings, you probably want to feel better. So.. here are some tips for overcoming depression:
Vegan transformation stories you should definitely check out: