
Please support Afro-Vegan cookbook rather than Thug Kitchen. Here’s why:
”Bryant Terry is a chef, educator, and author renowned for his activism to create a healthy, just, and sustainable food system. Bryant’s fourth book, Afro-Vegan was published by Ten Speed Press/Random House April 2014. Just 2 months after publication, Afro-Vegan was named by Amazon as one of the best cookbooks of 2014. In December it was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Literary Work category.
If you want a taste of culture-rich, ethnic and truly vegan food, (Thug Kitchen uses honey in some recipes), without the culture appropriation and perpetuation of negative and racist stereotypes about an entire community, consider getting Afro-Vegan.” ~ Hugo Dominguez
www.amazon.com/Afro-Vegan-Farm-Fresh-African-Caribbean-Southern/dp/1607745313
Arthritis may be incurable…but it is preventable. At the very least, it can be minimized; there are a few sites that say it can be managed with a lowfat plant-based diet.
There's a very good documentary that came out maybe a year or so ago called Forks Over Knives that proposes that most "Western" diseases of excess can be reduced or eliminated with a plant-based diet. (And diabetes is on the list.) I know this flies in the face of conventional wisdom that says that for some—even many—conditions, a high-fat, animal-protein based, ketogenic diet is one of them. For instance, I'm not about to argue with my friend in California who's treating his epileptic son with such a diet.
However, when you consider that Asian people who were basically free of heart disease, cancer, and most degenerative diseases are now developing a Western-style disease profile now that their diet is changing from a plant-based one to one that's heavy in meat and dairy, you have to question the wisdom of such a system. Large-scale animal production also causes many environmental problems that would simply not be present if the land were for growing plants to feed directly to people, rather than to feed to animals who are fed to people.
There's a documentary called Vegucated which follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers when they agree to give up meat and dairy for six weeks:
I realize most people aren't inclined to change, but I just wanted to put this out there. We can't continue expanding animal production, especially in the regions of Asia and South America where they formerly ate a plant-based diet. I know that only about 3% of all people in the world are vegan, but that number has to change, or we as a species will die out, and sooner than later. Maybe that's a good thing.
There's a very good documentary that came out maybe a year or so ago called Forks Over Knives that proposes that most "Western" diseases of excess can be reduced or eliminated with a plant-based diet. (And diabetes is on the list.) I know this flies in the face of conventional wisdom that says that for some—even many—conditions, a high-fat, animal-protein based, ketogenic diet is one of them. For instance, I'm not about to argue with my friend in California who's treating his epileptic son with such a diet.
However, when you consider that Asian people who were basically free of heart disease, cancer, and most degenerative diseases are now developing a Western-style disease profile now that their diet is changing from a plant-based one to one that's heavy in meat and dairy, you have to question the wisdom of such a system. Large-scale animal production also causes many environmental problems that would simply not be present if the land were for growing plants to feed directly to people, rather than to feed to animals who are fed to people.
There's a documentary called Vegucated which follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers when they agree to give up meat and dairy for six weeks:
I realize most people aren't inclined to change, but I just wanted to put this out there. We can't continue expanding animal production, especially in the regions of Asia and South America where they formerly ate a plant-based diet. I know that only about 3% of all people in the world are vegan, but that number has to change, or we as a species will die out, and sooner than later. Maybe that's a good thing.
Blue mashed-potato waffles!
Aug. 23rd, 2010 12:44 amI went to a mashed-potato waffle party about a month ago and even brought my George Foreman grill, but it was so swamped I didn't stay. So I made these tonight; they were just excellent—no sauce of any kind, just a few slices of avocado. They were also pretty easy; I might just have to have a mashed-potato waffle party myself.
(I swear, I don't know why I've never seen these on a brunch menu before. These that I made are vegan and easy; maybe I should open a diner?)
Blue mashed-potato waffles!
Aug. 23rd, 2010 12:44 amI went to a mashed-potato waffle party about a month ago and even brought my George Foreman grill, but it was so swamped I didn't stay. So I made these tonight; they were just excellent—no sauce of any kind, just a few slices of avocado. They were also pretty easy; I might just have to have a mashed-potato waffle party myself.
(I swear, I don't know why I've never seen these on a brunch menu before. These that I made are vegan and easy; maybe I should open a diner?)
www.examiner.com/x-5150-Philadelphia-Vegan-Examiner~y2009m4d9-Ten-stupid-questions-vegans-get-asked
Ten stupid questions vegans get asked
April 9, 7:21 PM
The following is a list of stupid questions that vegans get asked with some tongue-in-cheek responses for your entertainment. Please note, I could go into immense detail to seriously address each and every one of these questions, but I will save that for later FAQs. Enjoy!
1) Don't you miss cheese?
I miss cheese about as much as I miss drinking Pepto-Bismol as a kid.
2) If everyone went vegan, wouldn't animals take over the world?
Yes, animals would take over the world and cows would be breaking down our doors! You do realize that these animals exist only because we breed them into existence, right?
3) Aren't you hurting plants?
Plants do not have central nervous systems, therefore are not sentient, therefore do not feel pain. C'mon, really?
4) Where do you get your protein?
Newsflash!! Almost ALL foods contain protein and guess what? We don't even need to combine them! This question must be straight out of 1983.
5) Do you eat fish?
Biology 101: Fish belong to the ANIMAL kingdom.
6) Wouldn't cows explode if we didn't milk them?
Why don't you go ask a mother that did not breast feed if her breasts are still intact. The only reason cows GIVE milk is because they are pregnant. Again, Biology 101.
7) Why don't you care about people?
I don't know about you, but I am capable of caring about more than one thing at a time. I guess someone with two children can only care about one of them with that logic.
8) Where do you get calcium if you don't drink milk?
Broccoli, brussels sprouts and most leafy greens offer more available calcium than cow's milk. Brussels sprouts clock in at around 68% absorption and I believe cow's milk clocks in somewhere around 32%. Where do you think cultures that don't drink milk get their calcium, dummy?
9) What do you eat, like salads and tofu?
Sometimes I throw in some iceberg lettuce for variety!
10) Isn't it hard being vegan?
Isn't it hard ripping through the greasy crust of a chicken wing, chewing around the cartilage, then picking the tendons out of your teeth afterwards? The only thing hard about being vegan is dealing with all these stupid, nonsensical questions.
Ten stupid questions vegans get asked
April 9, 7:21 PM
The following is a list of stupid questions that vegans get asked with some tongue-in-cheek responses for your entertainment. Please note, I could go into immense detail to seriously address each and every one of these questions, but I will save that for later FAQs. Enjoy!
1) Don't you miss cheese?
I miss cheese about as much as I miss drinking Pepto-Bismol as a kid.
2) If everyone went vegan, wouldn't animals take over the world?
Yes, animals would take over the world and cows would be breaking down our doors! You do realize that these animals exist only because we breed them into existence, right?
3) Aren't you hurting plants?
Plants do not have central nervous systems, therefore are not sentient, therefore do not feel pain. C'mon, really?
4) Where do you get your protein?
Newsflash!! Almost ALL foods contain protein and guess what? We don't even need to combine them! This question must be straight out of 1983.
5) Do you eat fish?
Biology 101: Fish belong to the ANIMAL kingdom.
6) Wouldn't cows explode if we didn't milk them?
Why don't you go ask a mother that did not breast feed if her breasts are still intact. The only reason cows GIVE milk is because they are pregnant. Again, Biology 101.
7) Why don't you care about people?
I don't know about you, but I am capable of caring about more than one thing at a time. I guess someone with two children can only care about one of them with that logic.
8) Where do you get calcium if you don't drink milk?
Broccoli, brussels sprouts and most leafy greens offer more available calcium than cow's milk. Brussels sprouts clock in at around 68% absorption and I believe cow's milk clocks in somewhere around 32%. Where do you think cultures that don't drink milk get their calcium, dummy?
9) What do you eat, like salads and tofu?
Sometimes I throw in some iceberg lettuce for variety!
10) Isn't it hard being vegan?
Isn't it hard ripping through the greasy crust of a chicken wing, chewing around the cartilage, then picking the tendons out of your teeth afterwards? The only thing hard about being vegan is dealing with all these stupid, nonsensical questions.
www.examiner.com/x-5150-Philadelphia-Vegan-Examiner~y2009m4d9-Ten-stupid-questions-vegans-get-asked
Ten stupid questions vegans get asked
April 9, 7:21 PM
The following is a list of stupid questions that vegans get asked with some tongue-in-cheek responses for your entertainment. Please note, I could go into immense detail to seriously address each and every one of these questions, but I will save that for later FAQs. Enjoy!
1) Don't you miss cheese?
I miss cheese about as much as I miss drinking Pepto-Bismol as a kid.
2) If everyone went vegan, wouldn't animals take over the world?
Yes, animals would take over the world and cows would be breaking down our doors! You do realize that these animals exist only because we breed them into existence, right?
3) Aren't you hurting plants?
Plants do not have central nervous systems, therefore are not sentient, therefore do not feel pain. C'mon, really?
4) Where do you get your protein?
Newsflash!! Almost ALL foods contain protein and guess what? We don't even need to combine them! This question must be straight out of 1983.
5) Do you eat fish?
Biology 101: Fish belong to the ANIMAL kingdom.
6) Wouldn't cows explode if we didn't milk them?
Why don't you go ask a mother that did not breast feed if her breasts are still intact. The only reason cows GIVE milk is because they are pregnant. Again, Biology 101.
7) Why don't you care about people?
I don't know about you, but I am capable of caring about more than one thing at a time. I guess someone with two children can only care about one of them with that logic.
8) Where do you get calcium if you don't drink milk?
Broccoli, brussels sprouts and most leafy greens offer more available calcium than cow's milk. Brussels sprouts clock in at around 68% absorption and I believe cow's milk clocks in somewhere around 32%. Where do you think cultures that don't drink milk get their calcium, dummy?
9) What do you eat, like salads and tofu?
Sometimes I throw in some iceberg lettuce for variety!
10) Isn't it hard being vegan?
Isn't it hard ripping through the greasy crust of a chicken wing, chewing around the cartilage, then picking the tendons out of your teeth afterwards? The only thing hard about being vegan is dealing with all these stupid, nonsensical questions.
Ten stupid questions vegans get asked
April 9, 7:21 PM
The following is a list of stupid questions that vegans get asked with some tongue-in-cheek responses for your entertainment. Please note, I could go into immense detail to seriously address each and every one of these questions, but I will save that for later FAQs. Enjoy!
1) Don't you miss cheese?
I miss cheese about as much as I miss drinking Pepto-Bismol as a kid.
2) If everyone went vegan, wouldn't animals take over the world?
Yes, animals would take over the world and cows would be breaking down our doors! You do realize that these animals exist only because we breed them into existence, right?
3) Aren't you hurting plants?
Plants do not have central nervous systems, therefore are not sentient, therefore do not feel pain. C'mon, really?
4) Where do you get your protein?
Newsflash!! Almost ALL foods contain protein and guess what? We don't even need to combine them! This question must be straight out of 1983.
5) Do you eat fish?
Biology 101: Fish belong to the ANIMAL kingdom.
6) Wouldn't cows explode if we didn't milk them?
Why don't you go ask a mother that did not breast feed if her breasts are still intact. The only reason cows GIVE milk is because they are pregnant. Again, Biology 101.
7) Why don't you care about people?
I don't know about you, but I am capable of caring about more than one thing at a time. I guess someone with two children can only care about one of them with that logic.
8) Where do you get calcium if you don't drink milk?
Broccoli, brussels sprouts and most leafy greens offer more available calcium than cow's milk. Brussels sprouts clock in at around 68% absorption and I believe cow's milk clocks in somewhere around 32%. Where do you think cultures that don't drink milk get their calcium, dummy?
9) What do you eat, like salads and tofu?
Sometimes I throw in some iceberg lettuce for variety!
10) Isn't it hard being vegan?
Isn't it hard ripping through the greasy crust of a chicken wing, chewing around the cartilage, then picking the tendons out of your teeth afterwards? The only thing hard about being vegan is dealing with all these stupid, nonsensical questions.
We've had this question before...
Nov. 24th, 2008 10:13 amHow do you graciously return a gift from Heifer International? It seems one of my well-meaning clients will be giving her corporate gifts from them, and if so I may be a recipient.
Considering that the gift is given in your name to someone else, it's especially tricky. I certainly don't want a cow slaughtered in my name—although they also do goats, sheep, and bees.
Considering that the gift is given in your name to someone else, it's especially tricky. I certainly don't want a cow slaughtered in my name—although they also do goats, sheep, and bees.
We've had this question before...
Nov. 24th, 2008 10:13 amHow do you graciously return a gift from Heifer International? It seems one of my well-meaning clients will be giving her corporate gifts from them, and if so I may be a recipient.
Considering that the gift is given in your name to someone else, it's especially tricky. I certainly don't want a cow slaughtered in my name—although they also do goats, sheep, and bees.
Considering that the gift is given in your name to someone else, it's especially tricky. I certainly don't want a cow slaughtered in my name—although they also do goats, sheep, and bees.
Sorry I didn't reply right away...
May. 21st, 2008 09:30 pmThis is for Dee:
Yes, I live in lower Manhattan, and moved to this neighborhood over 20 years ago (actually I first came here in 1980.)
First: you called me on my saying, "Sorry to say it, but..." insisting I wasn't sorry to tell you all my PeTA-inspired pipe dreams. Not true: I'm always sorry to tell people what they don't want to hear; I, for one, would love to live in a wish-fulfillment dream, but life doesn't work like that—for me, at least. When I read you were eating candy at night right before going to sleep, I wondered if you led a charmed life; I couldn't do that. (Maybe you saw my root-canal Halloween mask, posted in my journal here.)
To tell you the truth I don't know of a local nutritionist at all; I've never seen one. Considering how few credits of nutrition doctors are required to take in med school anyway, I don't really listen to them; every doctor I know says I should be eating dairy. Or maybe not me personally, but my sister's G.P. has said to her she should eat all the dairy she can get her hands on. (My G.P., when I was talking about dairy with her a couple of years ago, piped up brightly, "It's a good source of protein and calcium," not mentioning that the calcium in dairy products can't be absorbed without magnesium, which is absent in dairy. It is not bio-available, and most doctors don't know this. Gives me chillls.
As a matter of fact, I am aware that dairy consumption causes osteoporosis, and doesn't prevent it; when humans eat a lot of animal protein in the form of meat or dairy, an acid state is created in the blood and the body compensates for it by leaching calcium from the bones to neutralize it. Ever wonder why osteoporosis has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S., where Asian countries have a tiny fraction of the osteoporosis cases? They don't consume nearly the amount of dairy we do in the U.S.; it's not part of the traditional diet. (For more on this see O is for Osteoporosis.)
[this is my friend beforewisdom talking below:]
"Dr. Neal Barnard of the PCRM has an excellent book on using low fat, whole food vegan diets to treat diabetes. I won it in a charity auction last year and read it. It has a small chapter written for the doctors of the people who read it so that people can work with their doctors AND the book.
"The PCRM is good about being contacted for advice. If Barnard can't talk with your friend he could probably recommend a professional in her area.
"Brenda Davis RD is a vegan nutritionist, author of several books on nutrition and a coauthor of the American Dietetic Association's position paper on vegetarianism. She has a web site that can be found by googling on her name. I would contact her to ask for referrals as well. She also has a good book out on diabetes called Defeating Diabetes.
"Last she also completed a program she built from the ground up at the request of the government of the Marshall Islands, one of the areas of the world most stricken by type 2 diabetes. It was so bad there that the natives looked at diabetes as a phase of life, like puberty and were terrified of going to the hospital. It usually meant coming home without a limb.
"She went and lived there. Taught the natives nutrition, cooking and taught the government about vegan diets directly."
So I went vegan about six years ago; it wasn't painful, and I found a lot of my health problems disappeared. Plus, my weight is easier to control; I'm still overweight, but not to the degree I was, and I actually weigh about what I did in high school, which is good enough for me. I have a big collection of vegan cookbooks, although lately I don't have time to cook much, except simple stuff. But I do cook, because although I live in a mecca of vegan restaurants, I can't see paying so much for food I can make at home.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask, and if I come up with the names of any vegan nutritionists locally, I'll let you know.
[P.S.: This is the book: Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes. Sounds too good to be true; but maybe I'll get it, because I've got issues, too. (paternal grandmother had Type II diabetes, pulled her own teeth, ended up with an enlarged heart and artificial leg. Lived to be 75—if you call that living.)
Yes, I live in lower Manhattan, and moved to this neighborhood over 20 years ago (actually I first came here in 1980.)
First: you called me on my saying, "Sorry to say it, but..." insisting I wasn't sorry to tell you all my PeTA-inspired pipe dreams. Not true: I'm always sorry to tell people what they don't want to hear; I, for one, would love to live in a wish-fulfillment dream, but life doesn't work like that—for me, at least. When I read you were eating candy at night right before going to sleep, I wondered if you led a charmed life; I couldn't do that. (Maybe you saw my root-canal Halloween mask, posted in my journal here.)
To tell you the truth I don't know of a local nutritionist at all; I've never seen one. Considering how few credits of nutrition doctors are required to take in med school anyway, I don't really listen to them; every doctor I know says I should be eating dairy. Or maybe not me personally, but my sister's G.P. has said to her she should eat all the dairy she can get her hands on. (My G.P., when I was talking about dairy with her a couple of years ago, piped up brightly, "It's a good source of protein and calcium," not mentioning that the calcium in dairy products can't be absorbed without magnesium, which is absent in dairy. It is not bio-available, and most doctors don't know this. Gives me chillls.
As a matter of fact, I am aware that dairy consumption causes osteoporosis, and doesn't prevent it; when humans eat a lot of animal protein in the form of meat or dairy, an acid state is created in the blood and the body compensates for it by leaching calcium from the bones to neutralize it. Ever wonder why osteoporosis has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S., where Asian countries have a tiny fraction of the osteoporosis cases? They don't consume nearly the amount of dairy we do in the U.S.; it's not part of the traditional diet. (For more on this see O is for Osteoporosis.)
[this is my friend beforewisdom talking below:]
"Dr. Neal Barnard of the PCRM has an excellent book on using low fat, whole food vegan diets to treat diabetes. I won it in a charity auction last year and read it. It has a small chapter written for the doctors of the people who read it so that people can work with their doctors AND the book.
"The PCRM is good about being contacted for advice. If Barnard can't talk with your friend he could probably recommend a professional in her area.
"Brenda Davis RD is a vegan nutritionist, author of several books on nutrition and a coauthor of the American Dietetic Association's position paper on vegetarianism. She has a web site that can be found by googling on her name. I would contact her to ask for referrals as well. She also has a good book out on diabetes called Defeating Diabetes.
"Last she also completed a program she built from the ground up at the request of the government of the Marshall Islands, one of the areas of the world most stricken by type 2 diabetes. It was so bad there that the natives looked at diabetes as a phase of life, like puberty and were terrified of going to the hospital. It usually meant coming home without a limb.
"She went and lived there. Taught the natives nutrition, cooking and taught the government about vegan diets directly."
So I went vegan about six years ago; it wasn't painful, and I found a lot of my health problems disappeared. Plus, my weight is easier to control; I'm still overweight, but not to the degree I was, and I actually weigh about what I did in high school, which is good enough for me. I have a big collection of vegan cookbooks, although lately I don't have time to cook much, except simple stuff. But I do cook, because although I live in a mecca of vegan restaurants, I can't see paying so much for food I can make at home.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask, and if I come up with the names of any vegan nutritionists locally, I'll let you know.
[P.S.: This is the book: Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes. Sounds too good to be true; but maybe I'll get it, because I've got issues, too. (paternal grandmother had Type II diabetes, pulled her own teeth, ended up with an enlarged heart and artificial leg. Lived to be 75—if you call that living.)
Sorry I didn't reply right away...
May. 21st, 2008 09:30 pmThis is for Dee:
Yes, I live in lower Manhattan, and moved to this neighborhood over 20 years ago (actually I first came here in 1980.)
First: you called me on my saying, "Sorry to say it, but..." insisting I wasn't sorry to tell you all my PeTA-inspired pipe dreams. Not true: I'm always sorry to tell people what they don't want to hear; I, for one, would love to live in a wish-fulfillment dream, but life doesn't work like that—for me, at least. When I read you were eating candy at night right before going to sleep, I wondered if you led a charmed life; I couldn't do that. (Maybe you saw my root-canal Halloween mask, posted in my journal here.)
To tell you the truth I don't know of a local nutritionist at all; I've never seen one. Considering how few credits of nutrition doctors are required to take in med school anyway, I don't really listen to them; every doctor I know says I should be eating dairy. Or maybe not me personally, but my sister's G.P. has said to her she should eat all the dairy she can get her hands on. (My G.P., when I was talking about dairy with her a couple of years ago, piped up brightly, "It's a good source of protein and calcium," not mentioning that the calcium in dairy products can't be absorbed without magnesium, which is absent in dairy. It is not bio-available, and most doctors don't know this. Gives me chillls.
As a matter of fact, I am aware that dairy consumption causes osteoporosis, and doesn't prevent it; when humans eat a lot of animal protein in the form of meat or dairy, an acid state is created in the blood and the body compensates for it by leaching calcium from the bones to neutralize it. Ever wonder why osteoporosis has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S., where Asian countries have a tiny fraction of the osteoporosis cases? They don't consume nearly the amount of dairy we do in the U.S.; it's not part of the traditional diet. (For more on this see O is for Osteoporosis.)
[this is my friend beforewisdom talking below:]
"Dr. Neal Barnard of the PCRM has an excellent book on using low fat, whole food vegan diets to treat diabetes. I won it in a charity auction last year and read it. It has a small chapter written for the doctors of the people who read it so that people can work with their doctors AND the book.
"The PCRM is good about being contacted for advice. If Barnard can't talk with your friend he could probably recommend a professional in her area.
"Brenda Davis RD is a vegan nutritionist, author of several books on nutrition and a coauthor of the American Dietetic Association's position paper on vegetarianism. She has a web site that can be found by googling on her name. I would contact her to ask for referrals as well. She also has a good book out on diabetes called Defeating Diabetes.
"Last she also completed a program she built from the ground up at the request of the government of the Marshall Islands, one of the areas of the world most stricken by type 2 diabetes. It was so bad there that the natives looked at diabetes as a phase of life, like puberty and were terrified of going to the hospital. It usually meant coming home without a limb.
"She went and lived there. Taught the natives nutrition, cooking and taught the government about vegan diets directly."
So I went vegan about six years ago; it wasn't painful, and I found a lot of my health problems disappeared. Plus, my weight is easier to control; I'm still overweight, but not to the degree I was, and I actually weigh about what I did in high school, which is good enough for me. I have a big collection of vegan cookbooks, although lately I don't have time to cook much, except simple stuff. But I do cook, because although I live in a mecca of vegan restaurants, I can't see paying so much for food I can make at home.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask, and if I come up with the names of any vegan nutritionists locally, I'll let you know.
[P.S.: This is the book: Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes. Sounds too good to be true; but maybe I'll get it, because I've got issues, too. (paternal grandmother had Type II diabetes, pulled her own teeth, ended up with an enlarged heart and artificial leg. Lived to be 75—if you call that living.)
Yes, I live in lower Manhattan, and moved to this neighborhood over 20 years ago (actually I first came here in 1980.)
First: you called me on my saying, "Sorry to say it, but..." insisting I wasn't sorry to tell you all my PeTA-inspired pipe dreams. Not true: I'm always sorry to tell people what they don't want to hear; I, for one, would love to live in a wish-fulfillment dream, but life doesn't work like that—for me, at least. When I read you were eating candy at night right before going to sleep, I wondered if you led a charmed life; I couldn't do that. (Maybe you saw my root-canal Halloween mask, posted in my journal here.)
To tell you the truth I don't know of a local nutritionist at all; I've never seen one. Considering how few credits of nutrition doctors are required to take in med school anyway, I don't really listen to them; every doctor I know says I should be eating dairy. Or maybe not me personally, but my sister's G.P. has said to her she should eat all the dairy she can get her hands on. (My G.P., when I was talking about dairy with her a couple of years ago, piped up brightly, "It's a good source of protein and calcium," not mentioning that the calcium in dairy products can't be absorbed without magnesium, which is absent in dairy. It is not bio-available, and most doctors don't know this. Gives me chillls.
As a matter of fact, I am aware that dairy consumption causes osteoporosis, and doesn't prevent it; when humans eat a lot of animal protein in the form of meat or dairy, an acid state is created in the blood and the body compensates for it by leaching calcium from the bones to neutralize it. Ever wonder why osteoporosis has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S., where Asian countries have a tiny fraction of the osteoporosis cases? They don't consume nearly the amount of dairy we do in the U.S.; it's not part of the traditional diet. (For more on this see O is for Osteoporosis.)
[this is my friend beforewisdom talking below:]
"Dr. Neal Barnard of the PCRM has an excellent book on using low fat, whole food vegan diets to treat diabetes. I won it in a charity auction last year and read it. It has a small chapter written for the doctors of the people who read it so that people can work with their doctors AND the book.
"The PCRM is good about being contacted for advice. If Barnard can't talk with your friend he could probably recommend a professional in her area.
"Brenda Davis RD is a vegan nutritionist, author of several books on nutrition and a coauthor of the American Dietetic Association's position paper on vegetarianism. She has a web site that can be found by googling on her name. I would contact her to ask for referrals as well. She also has a good book out on diabetes called Defeating Diabetes.
"Last she also completed a program she built from the ground up at the request of the government of the Marshall Islands, one of the areas of the world most stricken by type 2 diabetes. It was so bad there that the natives looked at diabetes as a phase of life, like puberty and were terrified of going to the hospital. It usually meant coming home without a limb.
"She went and lived there. Taught the natives nutrition, cooking and taught the government about vegan diets directly."
So I went vegan about six years ago; it wasn't painful, and I found a lot of my health problems disappeared. Plus, my weight is easier to control; I'm still overweight, but not to the degree I was, and I actually weigh about what I did in high school, which is good enough for me. I have a big collection of vegan cookbooks, although lately I don't have time to cook much, except simple stuff. But I do cook, because although I live in a mecca of vegan restaurants, I can't see paying so much for food I can make at home.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask, and if I come up with the names of any vegan nutritionists locally, I'll let you know.
[P.S.: This is the book: Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes. Sounds too good to be true; but maybe I'll get it, because I've got issues, too. (paternal grandmother had Type II diabetes, pulled her own teeth, ended up with an enlarged heart and artificial leg. Lived to be 75—if you call that living.)
Fwd: I would go vegetarian but...
Feb. 16th, 2008 02:54 pm----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
Date: Feb 16, 2008 1:57 PM
Animal Rights In Spiritualism
Thanks: Viva!
( Cut for space )

Date: Feb 16, 2008 1:57 PM
Animal Rights In Spiritualism
( Cut for space )

Fwd: I would go vegetarian but...
Feb. 16th, 2008 02:54 pm----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
Date: Feb 16, 2008 1:57 PM
Animal Rights In Spiritualism
Thanks: Viva!
( Cut for space )

Date: Feb 16, 2008 1:57 PM
Animal Rights In Spiritualism
( Cut for space )
