how are you enjoying the summer? Whether you are currently on holiday or working, summer is an amazing time to do some fun activities, hit the beach or swimming pool, get some tan, enjoy outside workouts etc.
What's your most favorite activity to do in summer?
I love spending time on beach, but since my country doesn't have a seaside I also like to go to lakes or swimming pools and enjoy a nice relaxing day whilst getting that nose red (yes, I am that kind of person) and muscles nicely tired from all that swimming. :-)
But that's not what I wanted to talk about today.
If you follow me on Instagram, you might already know that I completely changed my diet and went plant based recently. It is about two months now and I would like to share my opinions with you guys.
This new lifestyle opened a completely different world to me and I am still amazed by all those benefits, both physical and mental, which this way of living has to offer.
First, I should probably talk about what Whole Food Plant Based diet means.
It is a diet which, firstly, omits any kind of animal product, therefore you do not consume any meat, eggs and dairy. Why don't I call it a vegan diet then? Let's talk about it a bit more..
The whole food plant based diet, as the name itself suggests, means consumption of mainly whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, legumes, grains, starches and healthy fats and oils. By healthy fats and oils I mean mainly nuts, seeds and avocados.
Oils such as olive oil, coconut oil and any other oils are considered to be highly processed foods and, therefore, they are not recommended.
Other foods that should not be included in the diet are refined sugars and highly processed foods in general.
Does it sound complicated? I have an easy hint for you. Before you cook or eat, ask yourself a question - "Does the food, that I am about to eat or the ingredients that I am about to use, come directly from the earth?". If the answer is yes, go ahead and eat it. If the answer is no, then it is most likely not a whole food product. Apart from some slightly processed foods such as brown pasta, whole-grain flours, nut milk or tofu, which can be used as a part of your plant based diet, you can count on this question every time.
Still confused? I recommend to do your research to find answers to any question you might have. There are plenty of books, articles and YouTube channels dedicated to whole food plant based lifestyle. I will share some of my favorite ones with you at the end of this post.
And now let's talk about the reasons why I decided to change my diet completely and why you might consider it as well.
1. Physical Health
There are multiple studies proving that the consumption of animal products is very harmful for our bodies. Consumption of such products significantly contributes to thickening and hardening of arteries, which leads to cardiovascular diseases or even heart attacks. Highly processed meat products such as sausages, ham, bacon and salami are, based on WHO research, considered to be a group one carcinogen (another carcinogens in this group are ex. tobacco smoking and asbestos). Red meat was also found to be carcinogenic. People consuming those products have a high risk of developing colorectal, pancreatic or prostate cancer. There are other health related problems such as diabetes, hormonal imbalance, obesity, erectile dysfunction and others. We could talk about this for a very long time. I shall direct you to a list of recommended literature and films, which talk about this issues in details, at the end of my post.
On the other hand, plant based diet was scientifically proven to help with such diseases or even reverse them completely, and the results show that it might be more effective than medication or surgery. Many maladies of today's modern world, such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, Parkinson's disease, kidney stones, vaginal infections and much more, might be prevented.
Additionally, there have been examples showing positive effects on acne, allergies, asthma, irregular menses, eczema, mood, weight control etc.
So why are we not taught this at the doctor's or at school, you ask? This might sound a bit too conspirational for your liking, but I strongly believe that it is because the general interests is focused on money and business more than on actual human health. Health organizations, hospitals, universities and schools are sponsored by meat, eggs, dairy and junk food companies. How could they teach as what's right for our bodies if their biggest money sources come from those who don't want us to stop eating their products. I have seen a hospital spokeswoman openly confirming that her hospital is not interested in teaching about proper nutrition, because they get money from all those operations and medication prescriptions. That's crazy, isn't it. General public cares more about money than us being really healthy.
2. Ethics
How many times have you heard a person saying how much they love animals while eating a steak or chicken wings. How many times you were that person yourself.
And then one day, it struck me like lightning. The only reason why I was still consuming meat was the fact that I could buy a piece of chicken breast or a steak in the supermarket without making any mental connection to the actual animal. I was buying meat as it was a piece of plastic, not a real animal's part. Then I continued asking myself whether or not I would be able to kill a chicken or a cow for me to eat. My whole brain and heart was screaming "NO! NO! NO!". And so I stopped.
Somebody might object that dairy and egg production doesn't cause any animal slaughter.
I feel like many people still don't know this, but in order to get milk from a creature (whether it is a human or an animal), the creature needs to first have a baby. Without a baby there is no milk. So what do you think happens when a cow has a baby in a milk factory? The baby gets taken away so people can milk the cow and get milk for themselves. The babies are then usually fed milk replacers instead of their mother's milk. But they are just animals, right? They don't have feelings for their babies. Well, mother cows actually cry for weeks for their babies when they get ripped apart. If you don't believe me, you can find a lot of videos about this on YouTube.
Knowing this, I cannot stand contributing to this suffering anymore. No animal should suffer like this and chickens, pigs, cows or sheep are no different from the pets you have at home. Would you cause so much suffering to them as well, just for the pleasure of eating a burger or putting cheese on your pizza?
End eggs? Egg factories keep hens in cages or giant halls where the chickens have absolutely no space. They are kept so closely together that they urinate and defecate on one another. Many birds die and the survivors are often left to live with their ill or dead cage mates. Their beaks get cut off, while using no painkillers, so they don't fight among each other. And where do those hens end up once their egg production decreases? In the slaughterhouse.
I know that this is a very tough topic and I don't usually talk about things like that. However, I believe that all people should know about this and realize how much suffering we are causing for our own "pleasure".
3. Mental Health
We have already covered the physical health but now it is time to talk about the psyche as well.
One of the things, which I mentioned a bit already in the 1st point, is that all those hormones and antibiotics, which are abundantly present in animal products, mess with our body, concretely they mess with our hormones. Hormonal imbalance, apart from all the physical problems, is a great trigger for tiredness, moodiness and even depression. And it is not only because of all the unnaturally added stuff. Animals, when being slaughtered or kept in horrible conditions release a lot of stress hormones, they are terrified and they are broken. All this emotion, believe me or not, is then part of the meat we later consume. Now, I think you can guess what that will do with your mental state and health.
Eating plants shows a very positive contribution to your healthy mental state. I can vouch for this! Now, I am not saying it is always just the food, stress, for example, is a huge factor as well, but people need to realize that what we put in our bodies affects us on the mental level as well..
Another point I want to mention is the suppression of our empathy. There is a great video currently running around Facebook and I will link it down below for you to watch it. It basically talks about what I have already said that was my problem. A lot of people know about the animal suffering caused by slaughter, torture and living in inhumane conditions. However, a lot of people still eat meat despite this. The reason is that we do not make the mental connection between a living creature and the food we eat. Similarly, as I used to think, we buy meat supposing it is more a piece of plastic than a real animal. We know about all the bad things that are happening, but we close our eyes and pretend like it is not real. And that's when our empathy suffers.
I consider empathy, compassion and love being one of the most important qualities a person should have. This might sound a bit made-up, but, again, I can honestly confirm that after I deliberately stopped being part of this animal injustice, I became much more compassionate, accepting and empathetic not only towards animals but also towards other people.
And those are my three reasons.
Maybe you finished reading this and you are asking yourself what to do now. I would recommend you to educate yourself, do your research, decide what's the best for you and do it.
You will find that many people still decide to eat a standard omnivorous diet and if it is fine for them, then ok. I am not here to scold anyone for not following what I consider being the best option for me and others. Everyone has a choice and you also have one.
Don't feel discouraged if others don't agree with you or don't want to follow your way of living. Be mindful of the fact that everyone has its own time for revealing certain things in their life.
However believe that if you are the best version of yourself and you inspire others, you will do miracles!
Love,
Julie xoxo
Recommended resources:
(I know that there are much more of various books, movies, websites etc., but I am choosing the ones that I like, read and watch)
Books
The China Study by T.C.Campbell
Forks Over Knives by G. Stone
How Not To Die by M. Greger
The Starch Solution by J. A. McDougall
Movies
What the Health
Cowspiracy: The Sustainibility Secret
Forks over knives
Food Choices
Vegan: Everyday Stories
Youtube channels and others
Mic. The Vegan (a youtube channel about vegan and plant based diet)
High Carb Hannah (a youtube channel about weight loss on plant based diet)
Jon Venus & Leo Venus (youtube channels for those of you who are interested in muscle building and fitness)
Caitlin Shoemaker (a youtube channel with loads of vegan and plant based recipes)
PeTA (American animal rights organization; you can find a lot of useful resources, articles, videos and more)
Nutritionfacts.org (a website dedicated to research and science. I recommend strongly recommend you to go and check it out as it probably has an answer for all your questions about plant based diet and others)
The Secret Reason We Eat Meat (a short video on Facebook)
Very nice post for people who should realize what they cause by eating meat and imagine themselves walking in animals'shoes
ReplyDeleteThank you! You are so right. :-) <3
Delete