Tag Archives: Nutrition

Health, Lifestyle

Supplements for Vegans, pt 3 Vit D

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Veganism can be great for your health, and for your family. Veganism has been shown to reduce or reverse many diseases, and more and more doctors are advocating a plant-based diet– not to mention the environmental benefit that is healthy for us all.  It’s no wonder that I find myself wondering why everyone isn’t already vegan!  

While being vegan CAN be healthy, being a junk-food vegan is also possible. For example, you could go home and eat the totally indulge-worthy Beyond Burger for every meal, and you would probably not end up with the most balanced diet ☺  And, the animals need you in fighting shape!

While there is a lot of confusion out there about nutrition in general, and for vegans in particular, with this handy guide, I hope you’ll find great ways to manage your whole-health, mostly with whole plant foods, and maybe sometimes with a very well researched vitamin supplement here and there, and the healthy food shopping list found at the bottom of each article in this series. And remember, balancing nutrition is not a Vegan problem, it’s an everyone problem, and healthy vegans are definitely better off.

Missed the first two? Jump to Part1: B12, and Part 2: Protein

Are fortified foods enough to replace supplements….?

fortified

Continue reading Supplements for Vegans, pt 3 Vit D →

Health

Supplements for Vegans, pt 1 B12

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Veganism is great for your health, with the overall reduced risk of most cancers, heart disease and diabetes.  This information is becoming more and more widespread, and I find myself wondering why everyone isn’t already vegan!  

With all of the benefits that come with a healthful vegan diet, it is very possible to live a vegan lifestyle that neglects your health. For example, you could go home and eat the amazing So Delicious Cashew Ice cream for every meal, and you would probably not end up with the most balanced of diets ☺  And the animals need you in fighting shape!

While there is a lot of confusion out there about nutrition in general, and for vegans in particular, with this handy guide I hope you’ll find great ways to manage your whole-health, mostly with whole plant foods– and maybe sometimes with a very well researched vitamin supplement, and the healthy food shopping list found at the bottom of each article in this series. (you can also Jump to Part 2: Protein)

The one supplement all vegans should take…

Continue reading Supplements for Vegans, pt 1 B12 →

Health

Fiber- Can We See the Forest for the Trees?

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Fiber, can’t see it now, shining and glowing, surrounded with gold, placed on top of the high pedestal of Health Food. Dieticians, weight loss books, and health coaches all ask you if you have enough fiber in your diet. In stores, everywhere, fiber fortified foods line the shelves, boasting fiber content this and insoluble fiber that. But is fiber actually that good for you? What exactly is fiber, anyway? How much is good, and how does it even work?

These are really important questions to ask, and there is no easy answer, no magic pill or formula. The closer we look at each of the component nutrients (fiber is a component nutrient of the macro-nutrient Carbohydrate) the more complicated we make these choices for ourselves. So, let’s talk about fiber, and see whether isolating fiber, and targeting it’s levels in our diets, is the answer to our prayers, the cause of all our woes, or just another nutrient that needs balance within a healthy diet.

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Cooking and Recipes

Carrot Green Pesto

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SONY DSC
Sea Salt
minced garlic

Inspired by some of the recent nutritional information discussing some of the best for you and least utilized parts of whole plants, we thought you’d enjoy a delicious SOS-free nutrient dense, low fat, high fiber pesto, perfect for pasta or spiraled veggies, as a spread, pizza sauce, or a dip for your crudite!

1 Bunch Carrot Greens

1/2 Bunch of parsley

1/4 bunch basil leaves or dried basil

handful of spinach

1-2 beet leaves

2 green onions

1 ripe avocado

1/4 cup broth

1 tablespoon flaxseed

1 small white onion

4-6 cloves of garlic

1/4 tsp citric acid or lemon juice

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

 

Blend or Food process, and season to taste. Will keep for 7-10 days in the fridge!

pesto.jpg

 

Health, Lifestyle

Vegan Body Building

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Before I jump into this, a word on promoting male stereotypes:  We do not, in any way, promote an ideal male or female body type or image  (please read these articles on toxic masculinity and why we should recognize what we do to reinforce these cultural norms ourselves) .  This is intentionally an article about male competitive body building, and why going vegan is totally applicable to this lifestyle, and also healthier.  I have included some names of competitive female bodybuilders at the end, but it is not the focus of this article.

We advocate for health, which definitely does not need to involve body building, in fact, I think many or most body builders do ENORMOUS damage to their body in the pursuit of the single minded goal of bulking up, not to mention stress injuries and other common sports injuries that are a risk factor in any athletic pursuit.  I (Suzi) am not a physical trainer, but I have clocked several hours in Rehab medicine, assisted on many studies, read many protocols for treatment and do a  lot of research.  Therefore, I can say it is likely POSSIBLE to be a bodybuilder, maybe even a competitive one, and to be healthy while doing it.  I don’t have the answer, but what I do know is that going vegan responsibly would go a LONG WAY to addressing some of the health concerns that would be generated by ingesting that much saturated fat, and animal protein.

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Health, Lifestyle, Uncategorized

Food IQ

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One of the biggest obstacles towards a healthy lifestyle (not to mention an ethical one!) is sifting through all the misinformation.  We grow up with one set of food traditions, and encounter a million different messages: low-fat, low-cost, low-carb, brain food, organic etc etc.  Many people describe being told contradictory messaging from one group or era and some conclude “well everything will kill you, so just eat what tastes good”

What if what tastes good, also looked good, was good for you, and didn’t break your bank?

Last Bites

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Lifestyle, News and Activism

Plant Pure Nation

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One of the best things about going to conferences like IPBNHC is how quickly people can introduce you to new things!  I was very excited to heat about an initiative called Plant Pure Nation:

“a “grassroots,” community-based strategy that engages millions of people everywhere to bring the message of plant-based nutrition to family, friends and neighbors. This effort demonstrates how millions of people working together at the local level can solve a social problem that industry and government have failed to solve.”

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Events, Health, Lifestyle

Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference 2015

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20150930_131000It’s registration day at the 3rd Annual IPBNHC in Anaheim, CA and you can feel the excitement as die-hard PBD and Vegans gather along with medical professionals some of whom already subscribe to a PBD/Lifestyle and some who are here to learn more and jumpstart this way of life for themselves and their patients!

The agenda for the next few days is full of information from some of the world’s most famous and prolific Plant-based advocate Doctors, dietitians and researchers, along with all meals presented to attendees to fully integrate the message.  I look forward to learning from these brilliant minds, experiencing the creativity in the healthy foods they’ll be serving, and networking with like-minded people around these meals.20150930_130948

And such goodies they give in your welcome bag that really indicate that they take the mission seriously to have it serve in all areas of your life.   Continue reading Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference 2015 →

Health

2015 International Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference

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As a vegan consultant and researcher for INOVA, I investigate the efficacy of plant-based diet, and the prevalence of inclusion of PBD in peer-reviewed studies, for a variety of health concerns relevant to current medical studies and patient treatment plans. Plant-based diets are on the rise, I am happy to report, and there is more and more interest in scientifically quantifying the results, which will likely make PBD more than just another passing dietary fad. plantricianproject-w590h590

“A nation in which physicians and allied healthcare professionals have received compelling education about the foundational pillar of prevention: a whole food, plant-based dietary protocol. A sustainable, financially sound healthcare system wherein nutritional medicine and its proven ability to prevent, suspend and even reverse virtually all chronic disease, as well as many autoimmune diseases, is fully integrated throughout the healthcare practice spectrum.”

That is the vision statement from the conference, colloquially referred to as the Culinary Medicine Conference.  2015 International Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference

It is exciting to know there is such a dedicated and growing community of people spreading the good news about an animal-free diet.  It is my hope that this continues to grow, and more and more people become aware of the practices surrounding these industries, and that these industries are pressured to change as a result.

Stay tuned for more links to publicly published medical studies.  The bigger picture includes health, compassion, and great food!