To Vegan or Not to Vegan? - Let's Dispell Some Veg Myths

After being vegetarian for over 7 years, vegan for a year, then raw vegan for a year, before getting extremely sick and nearly destroying my own immune system, I get such a huge amount of questions about that lifestyle, that I thought I'd post a short few set of myths that I end up repeating on a weekly basis :

1. VEGAN DIETS MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT - Its usually not the fact that a diet is meat-free that makes you lose weight; its the fact that usually when you go vegan, you focus on eating more natural foods that come from the ground, instead of a box filled with chemicals and crap.

The honest truth is that in my lifetime, I've met more than a fair share of overweight and extremely unhealthy vegans and vegetarians, because they still continued to eat foods that were from a box, highly processed, that just didn't have meat. Not a great way to support body health.

2. EVERYONE CAN GO VEGAN HEALTHILY - Trust me folks, as much as I'd love to believe this one were true (as a big advocate for cruelty-free products), this one totally depends on each individual's body type, blood type and what works for them.

My nine year almost meat-free diet actually tore my immune system down so much, that I contracted viral meningitis. Unless I re-incorporated meat into my diet, I may not have recovered my health to such a strong level where I haven't even gotten so much as a full-blown cold since (over 2 years later).

Also, my body was trying to tell me over those nine years that I needed meat because I was consistently jittery, was battling multiple candida issues the whole time, and really had some severe hormonal imbalances. Folks, I learned the hard way what my body needs; please do not do the same.

3. NON VEGANS DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE PLANET - One of my biggest pet peeves honestly about becoming an omnivore again after being vegan for so long, is having some vegan eaters tell me I'm a part of destroying the planet. OH REALLY?

Considering
a) I might most seriously still be debilitated if I didn't start eating meat again, and may not healthily be here to tell my tale,

b) I buy mostly organic where I can, use the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle, with emphasis on the first two) every day,

c) Use awareness in nearly all of my buying choices, where I choose local, lightly used, and upcycled wherever I can, and last but not least

d) Have finally started to make a true impact in my love for all things green by relating it to people with their health,

my comment back is, I'd rather eat my meat (thank you very much), continue to have my positive impact on this planet as a whole, and teach thousands of others (which I do every day) how their small choices cumulatively as individuals have a bigger impact than one person going hog-wild.

I thought it would be useful to not only vent, but also help countless others in this vegan/omnivore debate... Now that I've been on both sides of this fence, I really get how futile the argument sometimes is. It's more important that people know what real food looks like period, as right now most people believe that fast food is really food. We've got a much bigger issue to tackle than we initially may have thought.

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Too Busy to Eat Healthy?

Whether you're a busy young professional, new Mom, or an always-working entrepreneur, there are some simple things you can do to make sure you're still eating well, with a limited amount of time.

One disclaimer first:

Don't try to do everything at once!!!

Going from Junk Food Jane/Joe to Health Food Harriet/Henry overnight never happens, and is a sure-way to get de-motivated and stop trying at all. Use the following tips instead:

• Subscribe to a home delivery service - do an internet search for an organic/local food delivery service, and you'll find that if you're in North America they're nearly everywhere. And if not, create a shopping list, and give it to your local grocery store - they want you're business, so they'll find a way to deliver to you! You can use the list from one of the food delivery services as a template, if you don't know where to start. Experiment with simple recipes and try to use all the veggies in the box!


• Try a smoothie meal! - get some healthy ingredients, throw some greens in (especially kale!), and you've got a breakfast or lunch meal on the go! Delicious and healthy. Yes, the green pieces may take getting used to, but do you want to be healthy and youthful, or feel like a piece of crap?! :).


• Eat lots and lots of salad - buy a big box of pre-washed greens, chop up some tomato, cucumber (and I love using celery for a bit more saltiness), squeeze on lemon juice and some olive oil, and you got a salad made in literally minutes! Try nutrient-dense greens like spinach, swiss chard instead of iceberg lettuce (which is mostly water and has minimal nutrients).

Don't try all three things at once. Pick one thing to do it consistently for 21 days (which is the time it takes to form a new habit), and chart your success and changes. Whether its an increase in energy, loss of weight, journal it, so that you can see what's happening as you change something for the better.

Feel free to share your success stories here as you go along, for even more cheerleading support! :)