The Valiant Vegan?

2/7/2013

The vegan diet is one that has not been around for very long. Vegan diets started in the United Kingdom with the birth of the Vegan Society roughly 50 years ago.

Traditional Diets have been around since the beginning of time.

I just want to put it out there that I recommend a traditional diet but do not “look down” to people who choose to be vegans or vegetarians. Today I am just going to share the reasons I choose to partake in a traditional diet.

Some vegans that I have spoken with have said that they feel humans are not designed to eat meats.

We all have hydrochloric acid in our stomach, that’s what helps break down our foods. This acid, HCL, is not found in any herbivore. Thus proving that we humans are more designed to eat meat.

The handful of vegans I have spoken with tell me that when they are practicing this diet, they feel great!

They probably do feel great. For years even! That’s because they are walking around in a adrenaline euphoria.

This is from the body’s lack of protein. Once the body enters a state of protein deficiencies the process of gluconeogenesis begins to occurs. That’s just a big fancy word for cortisol level (stress hormones) that rise to catabolize proteins to feed them to your brain. This process in return causes a release of adrenaline.

Too much adrenaline will cause adrenal fatigue over time. Hence the reason vegans may feel good for so long but then have a whirlwind of health issues down the road.

Most Americans do not have the genetics strong enough to deal with this type of diet.

I would recommend if you do choose to try veganism out, make sure your body is getting enough animal protein before you try it.

The diet I feed my family and myself is classified as a traditional diet. This means we eat butter, raw milk, cheese, animal meets and organ meets.

Yes we are normal people and eat “normal” foods like chips and cereal bars ect..but my fiancée and I are very cautious with what we put into our mouths and our daughters mouth as well. We just try to avoid anything that is processed, non-organic, not “alive” and GMO’d.

To each their own!

Do what works best for you. I know we are all different I just wanted to shed some light on veganism and vegetarianism that I feel most practicing dieters don't know about these diets.

I am partial to a traditional diet but sometimes don’t feel like eating a heavy dinner. So the other night I made a semi vegan dish, and it was delicious!

It was nice to try something different for dinner and it was so tasty I wanted to share it with you all!

Wintery Butternut squash with curly Kale.

1 lg Butternut squash
1 bunch curly kale
3 stalks green onions
salt
cayenne pepper
olive oil

1.     Preheat oven to 350

2.     Cut squash in half and compost the seeds and guts.

3.     Line a baking sheet with foil (or parchment paper)

4.     Lay cut squash flesh side down onto baking sheet

5.     Put into over for 30 minuets or until skin dimples and is golden brown

6.     Peel skin off squash

7.     Cut up kale and onions, mix them into squash

8.     Add olive oil and salt and pepper,

9.     Serve with parmesan cheese on top!

This is the first time I made this vegan dish and I felt the squash (by the time I was done peeling it) was not hot enough to make the kale soft, so I put it into a sautée pan and heated it through.

Even though my daughter didn’t try this dish, Justin my brother and I loved it!

Like I said earlier, to each their own! If a vegan diet seems to be a good fit for you and your family, do what works for you. I just recommend you to pay close attention to what your body is telling you it needs.

When my fiancée Justin tried to be a vegan, he felt good at first then after a year he started to have major health problems and teeth problems as well due to being nutrient deficient.

Through this article I am hoping to make you aware of the dangers involved with harsh non-traditional diets, but also to encourage you to do what works best.

Remember to love yourself always. Happy eating all!!

Blessings

2 Comments

dava

2/12/2013 04:02:00 am

You have a wonderful website. I do recommend that you watch the Forks Over Knives documentary though!

It is a myth that you cannot be vegan without being deficient in protein. It is actually very easy to receive adequate levels of protein and healthy fats if you are educated on the life style. Also the new found studies in Forks Over Knives are pretty eye opening.

Regardless, keep doing what you're doing! I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Xx

4/2/2014 12:34:00 pm

I just recently found your blog and have been reading all of it, i love it! This post is not accurate though. To say that Veganism is a new diet is false as all across India millions of people have followed vegan and/or vegetarian diets due to Hinduism. In addition the Mahayana Buddhists follow a vegetarian diet.

When you refer to Veganism as 'starting' roughly fifty years ago that is entirely untrue. what you are actually speaking about is the beginning of the use of the term 'vegan' in the Western world and beginning of the 'vegan society', a group which chose to abstain from animal products due to ethical beliefs as opposed to religious beliefs. Vegetarianism can be traced back to ancient India and Greece and even be found to be present in the United States and Australia in the 1800's. Even the Seventh Day Adventist Church advises a vegetarian diet for followers.
Secondly, there are a diverse range of natural sources of protein that involve in animal meat. People eat them everyday without realizing that they are a source of iron (in addition they are a natural, organic and cruelty free source of iron) : Pumpkin and Squash seeds,Pine nuts, Walnuts, Roasted almonds, Pistachios, Sunflower seeds, Peanuts, Cashews, Hemp seeds, Flax seeds.

Depending on age, weight and gender women require roughly 18 milligrams of Iron per day over the age of 19.
Each of these nuts can be combined with corn, beans, broccoli, potato, asparagus,spinach and brussel sprouts for a whole protein meal.

None of this includes the Iron that is found in fruits, bread, grains and pasta. This means if you have dietary knowledge at any given meal throughout the day including snacks you can achieve your dietary needs for everyday.
Furthermore it is a falsehood to say that Meat is the best source of Protein, in fact it is just the most concentrated form of Protein.
so, anybody walking around with 'Adrenalin Euphoria' is not eating a healthy diet and doesn't have dietary knowledge. All they need to do is visit a dietician or naturopath who will give them all the information they need.
They may need supplements such as iron, b12 etc. but almost every meat eater i know takes supplements for their health and the majority of the people i know who are anemic and iron deficient are actually meat eaters.

So, calling Veganism and Vegetarianism a 'Harsh Non-Traditional Diet' is false in more ways than one, it may be non-traditional to some, but eating meat is non-traditional in plenty of other places.

Harsh is definitely the wrong word too, through the right knowledge of combining foods to create a whole protein and optimize nutrient gain through food combinations most people can maintain higher levels of health than their meat eating counter parts.
Studies show that Vegetarians live longer and healthier lives with, among other things, less cardiovascular disease, liver and kidney disease.

I certainly don't think Vegetarianism and Veganism is for anybody. Hence why i used 'most people'. Diets including meat eating, vegan and vegetarianism all depend on genetics, individual life style and circumstances, health history and requirements.
But i do feel strongly that when advising people about these diets correct information is an absolute necessity so that people are armed with the right knowledge before they make a decision.

On a personal note I think its unfair to discuss eating meat without highlighting that baby animals 'veal, lamb' etc. are born through artificial insemination of the mother animals, removed as soon as they are born and killed so that we can have a good and yummy protein source. The mother animals, after having their babies forcibly removed are then put in a cage to be milked for their babies food, so that, again, we can have an easy and yummy source of calcium.
This is just one tiny example of what is happening to sentient animals. Animals that, like us, love their babies and children, wish to nurture and care for them.

we are not the only animals that produce cortisol, and it is found in eggs, meat and dairy. I have to wonder, on a spiritual level, what putting this kind of energy and fear into our bodies through food can do to our own health and energy.

Again, i love your blog and am not trying to say everybody should be vegan or vegetarian but that everybody should be aware and hold secure knowledge when considering any kind of diet.
Thanks for your blog, its very informative and i love the recipes and stories.

The Valiant Vegan?

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