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Vegetarianism
#11
(10-10-2015, 01:06 PM)Catherine Wrote: What I see as important is the fact that we are all thinking about what we eat and where it comes from. We are making conscious choices.

I was not a vegetarian when this thread was started a year and a half ago.
I think I can say that I am mostly vegetarian right now. That is certainly the direction I am going. I am not happy with the way animals are raised for food. At least I am making conscious choices based on what I know about our food system. I haven't said to much about the issue because I wasn't sure if I could make the change. So far so good.

If everyone made the changes you have done Catherine, it would make a tremendous difference.

It is harder for some people who have food intolerances. It's okay if someone can basically eat anything. But if someone has an intolerance to a vegan protein source, then it can be harder to live the perfect 'vegan lifestyle'.
But any changes make a difference, and yes -making conscious choices as much as possible, based on kindness towards animals.
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#12
I struggled with food intolerances before I started rethinking my diet.
That is why I am moving so slowly. I am doing well with eating more vegetables. Now the real challenge is my main protein sources. I shall have to try things carefully and see if I can eat them.
I am not eating as many eggs. I don't feel hungry for them.
Dairy products are still an important part of my diet. Once I have more non meat choices sorted out I may need less milk.

I think a lot of people are choosing to eat less meat. It will be better for our health and that may be the main motivation. It still translates into less animals being used for food.

Even if we do not get everyone to stop eating meat, changing our habits will make a big difference. I think it will help bring an end to the cruelty of factory farming.
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Catherine

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#13
Are you OK for eating nuts, Catherine?
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#14
(01-16-2014, 10:26 AM)Reduckto Wrote: That being said though, I am not an activist for vegetarianism. I often hear my veggie friends saying things like 'oooh I smelt that person cooking bacon and I was so tempted'. I always think 'well why don't you just have it!' My view is that if you want to eat meat you should eat it and not feel bad!

I will admit to being a meat eater but I must say I can see both sides of the story.

I find your perspective refreshing Reduckto. I have a family member who is vegetarian. She [like many "veggies" I know] always seems to me, to be fooling herself into being vegetarian. She buys all the meat substitutes so she 'feels' like she is eating meat: veggie hot dogs, burgers, bacon etc. She will even make ham and beans, pick out the ham, and consider that a vegetarian meal???
I just don't get it. If her body is craving meat, then why not just eat it?

I am not a fan of factory farming but one point to consider [from a meat eaters point of view] is hunting?
I know our local conservation department has to, from time to time, encourage hunting.
We live in an area where the deer and wild pig population can get out of control very quickly.
If let go, the wildlife population starts taking over. Spreading disease and disruption to many aspects of day to day life. This is not healthy for the wildlife and it's not healthy for us.
Therefore culling the herd becomes a necessity.

I don't eat a lot of meat because I believe too much of anything is not a good thing, but I also believe God put animals here for more than one reason?
I think, if you don't like meat then don't eat it, but if you are constantly craving it then perhaps your body is trying to tell you something.

As far as the eggs go, chickens will continue to lay eggs whether anyone is eating them or not.
Not all eggs will be fertilized and/or hatched. A hen is only broody at certain times of the year. Yet she will lay eggs every day. So why let them go to waste?

I know and love many vegetarians. To each his own, I say. That said, I don't want to feel guilty for enjoying a pork chop every now and then, which my 'family member' is famous for, lol!!
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#15
I think my real problem is with the nature of factory farming. The whole situation is cruel and I doubt the meat is healthy. The increase in the number of health issues is a red flag. We have created an unhealthy food source. We certainly don't need to eat the quantity of meat that people eat.

Animal Family, eggs from your chickens would be "happy eggs" because you have happy chickens. I doubt eggs from cage hens even taste the same.

I am shifting my diet from heavy meat consumption and I am making sure I eat balanced meals. I am not craving foods so I must be okay.
I feel good. I needed a more balanced diet anyhow so this is good.

I think if people are seriously craving meat they must be missing something in their diet. If you just cut out meat then of course you would crave it. I don't plan to eat veggie fake meats like hot dogs. I seldom ate hot dogs and burgers anyhow. I am finding ways to cook food I like with alternatives to meat protein sources.

I can eat nuts. I love nuts. As a kid I ate them when ever I could get them. I need to find a good bulk food nuts source. I distinguish food nuts from treats nuts. The treats are all fat/salt and sugar and I can't eat like that. I could chop nuts into stir-fries and make nut grain patties and "meat balls" that would cook into my usual recipes.

I do still eat dairy products. Milk has always worked to settle my stomach. Think of this as a conscious food overhaul. I am choosing fresh veggies over frozen. I can get them all year round. It is easy to throw a few raw veggies on the plate with every meal. Bread choices can be healthy. Rices and pastas have food value when combined with the right foods. I am less tolerant of lentils, but hummus is working for me. Other lentils I will just need to test out.

I think with food there is a need for certain textures and flavours. I did a pizza slice yesterday, but I got the one with veggies on it. It is still pizza and I enjoyed it. If I am in a meat eating situation, I eat less meat and more of the other choices. Even non vegetarians need to do that. We have become unbalanced in our diet and there are a lot of health problems as a result. I see it in the seniors I care for. Heart issues, strokes and diabetes are epidemic. Now there is more kidney failure. I think the excessive meat protein and salt intake are factors in that.

It is a complex issue, but one thing I am sure of, intense factory farming is not the right way to produce food.
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Catherine

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#16
You certainly know how to eat right. I am overweight and prediabetic with a fatty liver and high cholesterol. I am taking a statin for the cholesterol problem. I need to get down to a reasonable weight for me before the fatty liver gets much worse and it can turn into cirrhosis. I am not so worried about being prediabetic. I just have a way I've eaten for many years and find it hard to change. I like hamburgers but not hotdogs. I like steak and boneless, skinless chicken breast, cheese, chips and all that is not good for me. Just being honest about how I eat. I did eat better for a good 10 years when I was a vegetarian.
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#17
Ruth, I don't know if you're interested, but raw garlic is a good remedy for elevated cholesterol. You may not be able to tolerate eating 3 cloves of garlic a day!? I don't know. But I have found that if the garlic cloves are chopped into small pieces and drunk down with some water quickly, they won't 'burn' your mouth and your breath shouldn't smell.
(Don't eat raw garlic if you are also on anti-coagulants or aspirin, or have a bleeding disorder.)

Statins are good but one side effect can be muscle pain and weakness over time.

For other herbs which might help, a qualified medical herbalist would be able to advise.

I stopped eating meat regularly about 1979. I felt immediately fitter. I did still eat fish sometimes though, and in those days would eat meat at family gatherings such as Christmas. But some meats I completely lost the taste for (which I used to like!) I tried liver and onions once about 1983 and I'd always liked that -but suddenly it tasted like dog food! (and I know because I ate dog and cat food, age 10, for a bet! LOL!) Confused
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#18
We are what we eat, Ruth.
I had some blood work come back with the usually elevated cholesterol/sugar and of course slightly elevated blood pressure.
The Doctor would have given me medication, but I refused. Instead I work on my diet. I don't mean that I diet. I mean the food choices I make.

The prediabetic is more serious than you think. I work with seniors who are diabetic and I have seen what it is like. I guess it scared me into eating better. I have watched people lose parts of their feet. I see what it is like to have kidney failure and heart failure. I have seem people my own age who have had a serious stroke. They survive, but they are damaged.
That is the thing. You go on living with serious health conditions, but it is not comfortable life. I watched someone die of cirrhosis last year. It was sad. He was younger than me. He should have had so many more years.
A lot of what is wrong with us can be sorted out with the right food and healthy choices.

It is not easy to change. Seeing videos about how farm animals are raised has been a great motivator. Seeing the difference between healthy and unhealthy has been a great motivator. Now that I fill up on raw veggies, I do not crave the fatty foods. I feel full and comfortable. Once I broke the cycle of craving sugar it has been easier to stay away from it. The same is true for salt. If you cut down your salt intake it seems hard at first, but then you don't miss it. Put lemon juice on things and it tastes like salt and butter.

I am way healthier than I was ten years ago. It is worth it. I feel good. Now I am shifting towards a vegetarian diet because of how we treat farm animals. I think I will be rewarded by better health.

I hope you are able to help yourself eat better. You will feel better and your body can get better and stronger.
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Catherine

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#19
I agree, maybe it's not so much what we eat but the quality of the food we put in our systems.
Even the vegetables we eat these days are in question. Genetically modified, pesticides, etc.
I saw a show about potatoes and how many pesticides are in them. Not only on the outside but inside as well. Since they are a root crop they absorb the pesticides inside the potato, so you can't wash it off. Only organic potatoes for me now and only very rarely!
Also, we are becoming a nation of 'fast food eaters', possibly one of the biggest contributors to many health issues.
We seldom ever eat out. Partly because of the financial aspect, lol. Maybe once every couple months or so. I like knowing what's in my food and how it was prepared.

Tobi: I love that you know the wonders of garlic. It is so good for so many things. I am always trying to get people on the garlic bandwagon.
Have you ever tried [or heard of] "Liquid Kyolic" garlic? A shameless plug, I hope it's okay?
We are never without it in our house. It is aged garlic extract. One capsule equals 50 cloves of garlic [of I remember correctly]. It is aged so it does not leave you with garlic breath. Fantastic stuff!!! During flu season we always take some before we goout amongst the germs. We seldom catch whatever is going around and if we do get sick it is only very briefly.
Not to mention the other benefits. Lower blood pressure, great for the heart, so many things.
I have even used fresh garlic to cure ringworm in my family and on several friends.
I could go on and on, but I digress......
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#20
I will leave you two to the wonders of garlic. I can only tolerate a small amount and definitely not raw. It has been known for its good health effects for a long time. I think it is easy to grow so you could have it fresh.
I can see how garlic would cure ringworm. It probably has natural antifungal properties. Bulbs of any kind would need to be that way.

Quote:I agree, maybe it's not so much what we eat but the quality of the food we put in our systems.
Even the vegetables we eat these days are in question. Genetically modified, pesticides, etc.

I think you sum it up very well. I try to buy locally grown foods. I know that there are laws banning some pesticides and chemicals. That means the local stuff is grown to some degree in safe conditions.
Even so, I would never want to eat a huge amount of anything. It is better to vary things.
You are right about potatoes. If the soil is bad or toxic the potatoes would take up some of the toxins. I don't grow veggies in my back yard. There was an old garage back there and the soil was contaminated. When we fenced the yard, I buried the old gravel floor of the garage. I put shrubs and flowers on the small "hill" it created. It was the only way to deal with the toxic mess. I have transformed it into a beautiful area, but I wouldn't trust the soil.

It has become complicated. We have to think about what we eat and where it comes from. I am trying to eat better, healthier and generally more interesting. I am on the run between clients and pizza slice is my usual lunch. I am starting to make healthy muffins so I can eat healthy on the run. In the winter I sometimes need to buy pizza so I can get in out of the cold.
I have to cut raw veggies for the guinea pigs so it has become a habit to prepare myself a few veggies as well. Now I am choosing what else I eat. Eating less meat means less fat in my diet. That means less chance of gall bladder trouble(I have a history).

When food was food and it came from good sources we could just eat. Now we need to know that food is clean and chemical free. Meat is often full of antibiotics. I think they also use growth hormones. Many of the animals like chickens are bred to be so abnormal that I doubt they are good food anyhow. When you add the fact that factory farm animals are treated cruelly, not eating meat makes sense.

I wish the dairy cows were treated better. It does bother me knowing how they live. I want to see the whole food supply changed. We need cruelty free, chemical free food sources.
Our health depends on it.
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Catherine

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