Plant Based Diets

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Vegan Diet Means Eating No Animals

I labelled this page ‘Vegan Diet for Weight Loss’ but I also should add that it is for animal welfare too. It is such a fraught subject and I know it causes arguments but I am sure that one day we will see veganism, or at the very least vegetarianism, as the only way to eat both for our own health, for the good of the planet and for animal rights. But here, because this is a weight loss blog I will simply discuss the idea of a solely plant based diet in terms of health and fitness. There are several posts on the topic of eating a plant based diet and although you can read those I wanted to add more permanent page on  eating the vegan way.

We have only recently switched to a plant based diet and we are still learning how to cook enjoyable meals without meat, eggs, dairy or any other animal product. So far we have found this very enjoyable and fun but it certainly has been time consuming. I am working on this, as I feel that if vegan cooking is too time consuming it means fewer people will adopt it.

Why I Want The Whole World To Be Vegan!!

I want everyone to become vegan, ie stop eating animal derived foods.  I want the whole world to know that eating animals is killing us, and making us fat and unhealthy in the meantime. Did you know that many studies show that we could expect an additional 10 years of healthy active life if we were to switch to a plant based diet, namely a vegan diet? No, I didn’t know this either until recently. I learned about it by reading The China Study which astonished me. I thought I knew what a healthy diet was. I am a registered nurse and my husband is a specialist physician. We have always eaten fruit and vegetables and thought we were doing the right thing. But it isn’t true.

You Have Been Lied To  About Meat and Dairy Products

The fact is we haven’t been told what the right thing is. Here is a striking example: we have been told we must drink milk for calcium so that we would have strong bones.The truth is the complete opposite, milk is giving us weak bones not strong ones. The countries with the highest consumption of milk also have the highest rate of osteoporosis. Yes honestly, that is true. Why then is every nutritionist and government health agency pushing milk onto us?You may well ask. Perhaps it has to do with the power of the milk companies and the fact that they sponsor a lot of the research that the advice we receive is based on, or that no-one wants to think that something so wholesome might actually be a poison. In fact milk from cows is good only for calves-which is what nature intended.

The reason that milk causes osteoporosis is that animal products including milk acidify the blood. The body tries to remedy this by pulling calcium from our bones to return our blood to an alkaline state. If this goes on for long enough the bones become weakened and hip and other fractures can occur.

This information and much much more comes from The China Study co-authored by Dr. T. Colin Campbell Ph.D, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University Dr. Campbell has authored more than 350 research papers. He is also Winner of the 1998 American Institute of Cancer Research Award, the 2004 Burton Kallman Scientific Award by the Natural Nutrition Food Association. He is a reputable scientist not some alternative food nut out to bake a buck.  In “The China Study,” (Benbella Books, 2005), he presents the findings of a 45 year study and a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine.

Here are some further findings from the book:

• Rates of heart disease and cancer are diseases found in affluent countries where consumption of animal proteins is high and consumption of plant based foods is correspondingly low. Lower blood cholesterol levels are linked to lower rates not only of heart disease, but of cancer, and other Western diseases, even though these levels were what in the West would be seen as safe and normal.
• As income rises in rural areas of China so does the consumption of meat and dairy. This is followed by an increase in blood cholesterol followed by increases in heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases of affluence.
• Obesity, diabetes and many other diseases are linked to eating animal products.
• Switching to a plant based diet will end or severely reduce such diseases. Plant foods can provide all the nutrients that we need for health.
• We may need to supplement B12 but that is only true because soils have been depleted by farming. In earlier times vitamin B12 would have been present in the soil that clung to vegetables. Now we wash everything before it goes to market.
• The Study showed that meat and meat products should not be part of the human diet.
• Dr Campbell provides a simple guide  for us. Eat only whole unprocessed plant foods and eat as much of them as you want. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. Do not eat processed food such as sugars. Eat oils only in very small quantities.
• Eating this way you will never feel hungry and can eat as much as you like.

This is pretty straight forward even though it might seem very difficult to accomplish. It isn’t easy to give up milk and cheese. We do need to think and plan very carefully if we decide to adopt this way of eating, but it is worth the effort. Health is in our own hands and we must take ownership of it. Doctors and hospitals are not going to be needed so often if we change the way we eat to this healthy natural diet.

How Do We Lose Weight On A Vegan Diet?

You may be wondering how all this can help you to lose weight. You can still be fat and be a vegan. The way to lose weight on this plant based diet is to cut out all refined foods. Tghink about eating only those foods that are in their natural state.

So that means you don’t eat:

• eggs, meat, fish and products derived from them.
• sugar and foods sweetened with sugars, syrups, or honey
• white bread, crackers,cakes ice ‘creams’ ( you can buy delicious soy ice ‘cream’ but they are not weight loss foods!)
• oils and foods rich in oils. Foods cooked in oil or with oil filled dressings poured over them are out.
• Eat plenty of vegetables and fewer fruits

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