why, who, & how to go vegan (for morality, wellness & sustainability)
Why go vegan
Meat (especially beef) and dairy is very strongly linked to many diseases namely:
1) atherscolosis related (e.g. heart disease & ischemic strokes) - although this is especially due to mixing starches (like bread / any grain or legume or root especially potato) or especially processed carbohydrates i.e. sugars (like any pasta, bread, and rice these days) which is almost unavoidable, with anything especially protein (especially high in an animal product diet). This incompatible mixing is called Viruddha Ahara.
2) uric acid related (e.g. Gout & Osteoporosis) - although any high protein diet (possibly from excess grains, oil seeds, nuts, and legumes) means a high level of amino acids therefore acidity therefore ammonia
3) autoimmune related (e.g. Multiple Scleroris & Rheumatoid Arthritis) - although this is highly related to chemicals used in any agriculture, but also an acidic diet is attributed.
One of the prime reasons that people do not believe in veganism is the myth that sugar makes you fat. Sugar is carbs and is not limited to monosaccharides (such as glucose, fructose (the worst), and galactose) from processed foods (such as table sugar regardless of how brown, and refined grains) that are easy to break down therefore store and cause many ailments such as diabetes 2, fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, and metabolism disorder. Sugar also includes disaccharides such as sucrose from whole fruit and maltose from whole grains, which are healthy in moderation and do not break down so easily.
Another myth is the lack of Vitamin B12, when 85% of the population has it because animals are not even grown naturally any more. Below you will find tips on how to ensure you get it on a vegan diet.
The human body is basically a water bottle with at least 70% water, therefore the highest needs for nutrition is water (which is also obtained via air) itself. Only in terms of water content, fruits & vegetables are more suitable for it because they average 90% water, while cooked meats average only 60%. In fact, the sodium in meat depletes water content.
Therefore, even if plants feel pain (they do but not when cut off; more details below): it takes a lot more plants to produce meat & dairy than it does to consume plants directly.
Vegetarian and vegans that have absolutely no meat (especially fish) may have a higher risk for total stroke (especially hemorrhagic), but that is tiny compared to heart disease (#1 cause for death) and ischemic stroke chances experienced by omnivores.
Here are just a few comparisons between vegan and omnivore diet
Aside from any health or ethical reasons, it just doesn't make sense to have meat cause you cannot eat it unless cooked (aside from fish, but risk having a worm grow in your intestines), nor dairy cause why are you having it after infancy, especially from another species? It makes the least sense to have egg (as you can see above: they are unfertilised infants i.e. periods).
In fact, we are not omnivores nor herbivores, but frugivores, alot like gorillas - best suited for fruits. However, this may be because they prefer them for their taste, so vegetables may still be the ideal human diet since we do not move as much these days in order to burn off all those sugary calories.
And here is the number one reason to eat those bloody putrid plants!
Why stop supporting animal agriculture
Plants are non sentient. That means that although they are consciousness like anything else, they have absolutely no consciousness (not even of being a body). Also, unlike mammals that naturally die when a part of it is cut off, each part of a plant (e.g. branch of an apple tree) is an omnipotent whole, therefore each plant species (e.g. apple) is part of the same soul (all apple trees). So when you kill a part of a plant or a plant you have done nothing to the soul because that is actually the entire species. It only gets hurt (not physically) when you wipe off the soul (therefore species) by disabling it from surviving by not allowing the species to reproduce / polluting the soil / water / etc.
Plants also feel energy and their health is affected by it, but that does not mean they are hurt by it, which is the same case with any produce (e.g. rice) or element (e.g. water) as proven by experiments. The only sense a plant has is touch, but without the nervous system therefore pain because they have no brain.
Animals do not have higher consciousness, but they still have all 5 senses and have a brain therefore nervous system, so they feel pain. They are also sentient because they have consciousness, albeit a lower one: awareness of being a body.
Their highest consciousness basically is the earth / root chakra (desire to survive). They also desire to reproduce and enjoy pleasure rather than pain, so they apparently even have a a higher consciousness being at the water / sacral chakra (desire for pleasure and community especially family).
Also, why do religions have such concepts of kosher / halal (which may be necessary based on role / function, habitat & technology), which only apply to animal treatment all the way from obtaining to raising to storing to transporting to killing it? Mammals are more complex because they have 5 times more senses including a nervous system. Each human identifies as a single entity, each animal identifies as such but still somehow as a part of nature, but each plant identifies as part of a single entity, and each part of a plant is part of a part of a single entity (therefore severing that part doesn't affect it).
Here are a few reasons how animal agriculture is extremely supportive of animal cruelty, and yes, when it comes to it, it is a moral obligation (maryada) not to support it.
Yes, veganism appears to support ethics and salvation more than it supports health especially due to the preference of processed carbohydrates over processed saturated fats when the latter is relatively healthier (see point #19 below on How to go vegan).
In fact, veganism is also found to be linked to Adventism originated in the 1830s, which is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. Adventism reflected itself later in 1917 in the ADA (American Dietetics Association) with the advent of the processed food industry which appears to be linked to farm factories (being processed animal products). ADA was started by Lenna Cooper who was an American dietitian, co-founder of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, has been called a pioneer in vegetarian nutrition and dietetics, and was practising the beliefs of the 7th Day Adventist Church. She was the protige of John Harvey Kellogg who was an American medical doctor, nutritionist, health activist, and eugenicist.
Why not go vegan
It's a diet of depravation! :(
NOT! It is actually because there is too much choice that it can be an utter nightmare to chose what to eat everyday :/ That is why I decided to eat every other day, but I still wonder what to eat every other day :\
Jee what should I eat today? Will it be oat cake or oat meal or vegan omlette or banana brownies or nicecream sandwich or vegan patty or roasted vegetables or wok-fried veggies or baked veggies or hummus (msabbaha plain / msabbaha flavored, if so then which flavor / hummus fetta / foul (fava beans) / qudsiya (mix of hummus & foul) or steamed (or wok-fried?) tofu with veggies or pizza (with vegan pesto or pomodoro?) or stuffed bread (with which flour(s)? and which of the many savory or sweet stuffings?) or ...
... vegan BBQ nuggets (made with cauliflower) or whole grain rice biryani or maqlooba (rice with cauliflower) or quinoa or buckwheat porridge or dosa (with which flour?) with chutney (with coconut chutney or green coconut chutney or dry chana powder) or upma or raj masala style kidney beans or avocado with chia or mango with tapoica or peanut butter fudge or cookies (bake or no bake?) ... well you get the picture.
Here are just a few examples of the few (very few) vegan dishes you can enjoy, which I mostly made myself, and am not a chef or anything (so yes, not a diet of difficulty or depravation, at all). If you are concerned about taste: protein has the same taste regardless of source, so in veganism it is usually made with pea protein, coconut fat, and beetroot juice to make it taste and look the same anyway, but without its huge moral, environmental, and health impacts.
Who has gone vegan
Aside from the strongest and biggest animals such as bulls, buffalos, rhinoceros, horses, gorillas (mostly), and elephants being herbivores, you can find some great human examples too.
Yes there are many - popular - human examples that are either vegan or were close to it / on the path to it such as:
1) athletes like Frank Medrano, Dr. Nun Amen-Ra (deadlift world champion), Patrik Baboumian (mediumweight log-lift world champion, heavyweight log-lift German champion), Mike Tyson, Torre Washington (bodybuilding champion), David Haye (heavyweight world boxing champion), Stephen Hughes-Landers (calisthenics champ), Mowrad Rownak Flowrendo (multidisceplanary yogi, athlete, & martial artist), ninja, and gladiators.
2) spiritual guides like Jesus, Muhammad, Ghandi, yogi Anoop Haridasan, guru Jinesh Narayanan, Jain monks, and Mowrad Rownak Flowrendo.
3) scientisits & business-men like Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Nicolas Tesla, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates.
4) actors like Keanu Reeves, Robert Downy Jr., Joaquin Phoenix, Ryan Gosling, Jack Black, Woody Harrelson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daisy Ridley, and Kim Kardashian.
5) villagers like Blue Zone communities.
Oh and by the way, vegetarians do NOT eat egg cause even though it is not an animal (yes it's a hen period), if fertilised it can become one.
1) athletes
How to go vegan
You would think that an article about veganism making people stupid or psychotic would make you think twice about being vegan, but it made me think twice about NOT being vegan xP It just made me more sure to have certain items on my plate xD
The biggest possible lack of nutrient in vegan diet is NOT B12 (85% have it) nor iron lol, it's actually zinc!
Tips to to ensure your vegan diet keeps you healthy in the long run:
1) Vitamin A: available in all orange / yellow fruit & vegetables (like orange, squash, carrot, apricot, nectarine, bell peppers, lemon, etc.), mostly in the form of carotenoids which are then converted to Vitamin A. This also aids iron absorption.
2) Vitamin D: available from the freaking sun! The more sun grown something is (especially mushroom) the more D it has; you do NOT have to get it only from dairy!
3) Vitamin K2: specifically MK-4 lacking in plant based diet unless you have fermented foods especially soy like natto / miso / tempe. By the way soy does NOT raise estrogen, dairy does (duh.. it's from a female cow).
(yes he immediately grew boobies)
4) Probiotics including Vitamin B12: as many as 85% are deficient because animals are not even raised naturally anymore. This can be obtained via fortified yeast (nutritional yeast / marmite), fortified cereals, fortified plant milks, freshly plucked organic unwashed fruits and vegetables, and fresh spring water.
Good bacteria (probiotics) & digestive enzymes are needed to compensate for the unfresh & over sanitary urban environment and to especially ensure that fibers (especially from grains such as wholegrains & legumes) are properly broken down therefore aiding in iron absorption. Bromelain (pinapple enzyme) is pretty powerful digestive, but only taken right before eating otherwise causes heartburn (acid & starch); if that's not available then take a tiny bit of pinapple before food. More importantly, eating with Samana mudra (all fingers joined at the thumb) aids in activating the digestive system.
Prebiotics (probiotic food) is also needed and include high fiber foods such as green banana, onion, garlic, ginger, seamoss, and using fingers to eat. An inadequate microbiome is largely associated with autoimmune diseases such as MS and Arthritis and makes digestion a lot harder and less beneficial as bacteria release many important nutrients that body does not.
Aside from eating unwashed organic mentioned, most (if not all) bacteria die at 75C, so there is no need to cook at very high temperatures. If possible, cook at no higher temperature than 55C because you start to kill bacteria at 60C which are needed for many vitamins. As for digestive enzymes (besides the insufficient ones created in pancreas), you begin to loose them at 46C so try not to cook at a higher temperatures than 40C. You can find cheap thermometers at Amazon for guaging temperature.
The most important reason for not overcooking however is that processed foods raise the body's acidity which is linked to bile (AKA gal since it ends in gallbladder) secretion, which harbors disease. Fruit, burdock root, marshmallow root, liquorice root, moringa, and purple seamoss (and maybe prunes and dandelion root, although more of laxatives that reduce acidity related constipation) are all antioxidant anti-inflammatories especially marshmallow root which gently removes mucus while protecting related mucus membranes. Gold seamoss & coconut oil (even cow gee) also soothes the digestive tract due to strong mucilage, while green seamoss is more of a detoxifier.
For legumes (especially any stored for long and especially kidney beans), you may want to simmer (light boil) because it will take too damn long otherwise. Either way, avoid grilling (burns food), microwaving (unless necessary), and deep frying (mutates the food, and is also bad due to highly processed seed oils that are - yet again - over cooked and over used). Steaming is best, otherwise baking as last resort.
You can even get probiotics from cooling food after cooking it (especially rice) / saurkraut (fermented cabbage) / garlic (or any other) pickle / organic apple cider vinegar / fermented soy (natto / miso / tempe) / aged barley or rice / organic soy sauce / nutritional yeast / marmite / vegimite. Most of those are very easy to make at home with the aid of salt and oil especially for preservation, not vinegar as that actually kills bacteria.
Another trick is to avoid antibiotics (unless really necessary) as they kill bacteria, but especially if you must have them then it is imperative to regularly have organic unwashed produce, otherwise play at least barefoot in the soil, otherwise do regular gardening. One only needs a tiny 1.5mcg of B12 a day to remain healthy.
5) Iodine: rock AKA mineral salt such as himalayan or sea salt up to 1 teaspoon a day, otherwise seaweed or seamoss. This helps thyroid functioning therefore regulating hormones, and these have plenty of minerals too (seamoss alone has almost all 102). I myself like to mix gerger AKA arugula with rock salt, turmeric (great for brain function), pepper, and virgin olive oil; best snack ever.
6) Iron: even though plants have non-heme iron, of which usually only up to 10% is absorbed, ensure maximum absorption by having iron high vegan foods such as nuts, seeds (such as chia, having 3 times the amount in spinach), and cereals like wholegrains (barley, spelt, millet, etc.) and legumes (beans). Have starches (grains & legumes) with vitamin A (low acid orange or yellow fruits such as squash, pumpkin, carrot (preferably steamed) and... orange) otherwise nuts & seeds with either Vitamin A or C (high acid fruits such as lemon, pineapple, and most berries), minimal calcium (especially dairy as it impedes its absorption) to aid in absorption, and minimize antinutrients: phytates, lectin, and gluten. Also, ferment and preferably sprout.
Fermenting is to minimize anti-nutrients such as phytates, gluten, & lectin, to lower their glycemic index to prevent overly fast conversion to energy therefore fat build up, to cultivate bacteria to reduce the amount of their sugar, and to make them last longer through the lactic acid released. You can do this by soaking then sprouting by leaving them for half a day in a sealed environment (think mason jar), otherwise just light cooking. The best ones for sprouting are mung beans, chickpeas, and millet.
When it comes to bread baking: mix the wholegrains with 1/4 max sourdough (fermented dough) for a minimum of 3 hours, although preferably overnight (cold will slow down fermentation).
If that's too tough then you may have an old Swiss herb supplement named Floradix, which aside from iron in the form of ferrous gluconate, has full range of B vitamins (probiotics). If that's not appealing enough try nettles, yarrow or goldenrod in the their dried form, otherwise ferrous sulphate tablets.
Roots of: burdock / marshmallow / liquorice / dandelion, otherwise seamoss all help with overall minerals too.
Ask me preferably at www.NoDojo.Ninja for fermented items or instructions on how to prepare them.
7) zinc: i never heard of this as a vegan issue before, but most foods that contain iron also contain zinc so should be k 🙂 Anyway when in doubt: seamoss. There are many herbs with plenty of minerals too: burdock root, marshmallow root, liquorice root, and dandelion (especially root).
8) calcium: there are too many options such as chia (5 times the amount in milk), almond, cabbage family (including broccoli & bok choy), and tofu made with calcium sulfate.
9) complete protein especially by quinoa, hempseed, chia, buckwheat, and brown rice & beans combo.
10) minimize non organic foods especially the Dirty Dozen (need a lot of chemicals to prevent pests & weeds): strawberry, apple, grape, peach, nectarine, tomato, potato, kale, spinach, cherry, pear, and celery because they kill good bacteria which the body is composed more than human cells, and have low life force.
Also avoid conventionally grown wheat as glyphosate (a deadly chemical) is usually used as pesticide and to make it easy to harvest, replacing it with crono grains (preferably organic) such as oat, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, amaranth, sorghum, teff and, rice which are gluten free, and others such as barley and rye which are nutrient dense. If not then get certified organic whole grain wheat at the very least.
11) if possible, freshly plucked unwashed organic produce which you can get by growing indoors / in your patio / balcony or from a u-pick farm. This is because 50% of nutrients (especially vitamins therefore bacteria) are lost 1 hour after plucking, and almost 100% (especially Vitamin C) after 1 week. Vitamins (especially C) is said to be lost also after freezing.
12) never wash food after chopping it cause it easily loses its nutrients that way, and for conventionally grown foods (with pesticides and herbicides) scrub under cool running water then soak in water with sodium bicarbonate and lemon or salt and vinegar for a minimum of half an hour.
13) to keep body water content high and the body alkaline therefore prevent high acidity (therefore prevent a range of problems such as diabetes, obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic disorder, fatty liver disease, stroke, heart attack, autoimmune diseases & gastric disorders), at least 50% of your food should be fresh whole fruits & vegetables (which will also add necessary digestive enzymes), which does not need much processing. Fresh acidic fruit especially in the form of citrus and berries are great antioxidants which reduces inflammation caused by our unnatural lifestyle full with toxins and chemicals in the air, water, earth, and food (especially the processed especially with seed oils, usually overused).
No more than 20% should be processed / fun foods especially because those contain way too many calories and convert to unused energy (therefore fat) too quickly, which again makes you eat too much because they are addictive and make you feel hungry too soon (sugar crash). The rest should be whole grains then nuts & seeds to minimize calorie intake and feel full for much longer.
Processed carbs (white flour pasta / bread, white rice, sweets) are not only incredibly unhealthy (damaging liver, pancreas, gut especially good bacteria, and bones such as teeth, raise stress through acidity & blood pressure through artery fat therefore excess perspiration, etc.) but even inhibit grounding (earth element), the latter especially without matching needed exercise (although should be the other way round). Starches are also no good for grounding without suitable movement.
Some people however seem to survive fine on fruit alone, but I reckon that must be fresh & organic to retain probiotics. Fruit digests fastest therefore consumes least energy, and doesnt need any processing as its fiber content is manageable. However it shouldn't be consumed with anything, save for acidic fruits that help absorb iron from nuts & seeds, and helps with fermentation process.
If you must use sugar then avoid normal table sugar (no matter how brown because still has virtually no minerals nor antioxidants) in favor of natural sugars such as stevia, monk fruit, or date sugar otherwise sugar alcohols such as xylitol, erythritol, or maltitol which do not harm the teeth nor disrubt the balance of gut bacteria aside from containing a fraction of the calories of table sugar. Otherwise as a last resort then go for jaggery, which has high bioavailability of iron, and a high amount of antioxidants due to the availability of molasses.
14) especially for someone with high protein needs but is not yet is accustomed to a vegan diet (especially legumes i.e. beans), you should use the aid of digestive condiments to aid in digestion therefore prevent symptoms such as fatigue and bloating. These condiments have the same properties of bodily enzymes therefore help break down food to conserve energy and help maintain the body's internal temperature. These condiments are: coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne (red), green & black pepper, turmeric, aniseed, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds.
15) just as we do not want to demonize all sugars, we do not want to demonize HDL cholesterol (known as good cholesterol) which is too bulky to cross from blood vessels into the brain; the brain makes it out of anything. However it mostly comes from fats (preferably the unsaturated plant kind) that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that help brain function, protect the heart, protect from cold weather, and transport important nutrients around the blood.
Avoid refined vegetable oils especially seed oils (e.g. sunflower / sesame oil) high in linoleic acid (AKA PUFA: Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids) as they are unstable and high in omega-6 which reduces omega-3 and cause oxidation (due to high heat and chemicals for processing) therefore cause weakness and inflamation. Oils high in oleic acid (AKA MUFA: Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acids) are OK however. When it comes to cooking, the oil should be refined (higher burning point) but minimal, and still better not be PUFA. The best oils therefore are avocado, olive, coconut, and oleic sunflower, in descending order.
However, minimizing any processed oil (including MUFA / oleic) is a good idea because any oil is still refined oil and never naturally found anywhere. For example one table spoon of olive oil may need 100 olives to be processed; it is a lot like drinking "fresh" fruit juice. Processed oils simply are too saturated which also implies excess calories, yes even more than meat fat itself! Also, did you know oil cannot mix with water, which the body is mostly made up of?
LDL is really bad with excess sugar which breaks it down therefore triggers the body to create calcium carbonate as a defensive mechanism therefore clogging arteries. Get HDL from nuts, seeds (especially chia; 2 times the amount of omega-3 in salmon) or their butters (e.g. peanut butter), coconut, avocado, or algae such as seaweed (macroalgae). If not then from animal products such as pasture-fed cow ghee (a catalyst that multiplies chemical reaction especially for legumes up to 15 times for improved metabolism in liver), otherwise pasture-fed chicken egg especially its yolk. If not then from relatively healthy oils such as olive, coconut, and avocado oil. If not then from non-farm fish as a last resort.
Fish is the best meat because it is the least saturated and the least suffered due to lack of memory and nerve endings at the top of the jaw where it is usually caught. However, it does suffocate (therefore suffers) when taken out of water, a lot like a mammal suffocates when forced into the water.
The best fish are the smallest because they have the least contaminants such as mercury since they feed on plants, are cheaper, are more sustainable (they easily withstand heavy predation and multiply much more rapidly), are rich in nutrients (such as protein, calcium, vitamin D, iodine, iron, magnesium and especially zinc). Most importantly, small fish are least likely to be farm fish, which is cruel for the fish, encourages parasites & diseases which can also overflow into the wild, and often are fed the small fish which are better obtained directly. Examples are anchovies, sardines, herring and mackerel. However, keep in mind the source of those excellent nutrients: algae. Why go indirectly?
16) Don't fall for the "eat every 3 hours" myth cause that raises insulin resistance. Instead, fast at least 17 hours a day because that flushes out toxins (especially carcinogens) AND activates ketosis for fat burning (especially coupled with exercise, especially HIIT which boosts metabolism). This is easy: just make the last meal at 7PM (or little before sunset) therefore first meal by 12PM at the earliest, which is also great for metabolism as the digestive fire rises with the sun.
It is also recommended to fast a minimum of 24 hours a week (preferably dry) especially if you have symptoms such as high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, concentration / memory loss, any inflamation, or if any of your organs are not functioning well. This is dead easy: last meal little before sunset then have some fruit a little after sunset the next day (2 hours minimum before sleep).
17) When you eat, drink a little water preferably 15 minutes before as the water too needs time to digest, then eat slowly & mindfully (aided by using fingers) while chewing properly (especially cruciforous veggies such as cabbage, broccoli, and carrot) to aid not only in feeling full, but in a maximizing digestive enzymes, and especially preventing serious malabsorption into important organs such as brain. If chewing slowly & thorougly is not an option then just use a food processor otherwise steam cook. It's a simple formula: 1/4 of each element: water, air, fire (digestive one aided by sun), and earth (food or soil, or sand).
18) Last but not least, be aware of not mixing incompatible foods:
a) sugar (any fruit especially sweet therefore especially processed carbs) with anything as they otherwise over-ferment causing toxins. Good news is especially high water-content fruit specifically melons takes no more than 1 hour to digest, otherwise just 2 hours for the less diluted ones.
b) protein (soy, nuts, seeds, etc.) with anything save vegetables and maybe fat (coconut, avocado, oil, etc.). Protein takes the longest to digest: 4 hours minimum.
c) starch (roots especially potato otherwise grains (e.g. wheat, barley, oat, millet, etc.) and legumes (e.g. beans, chickpeas, etc.) ) with anything save vegetables and fat. Starches, alike fats take only 3 hours to digest.
Yes never mix sugars or fruit (especially sweet) with any food, unless to aid in fermenting proteins (nuts & seeds) or starches (wholegrains & legumes) through soaking in the case of Vitamin C (acidic fruits such as citrus such as lemon). Either that or mix Vitamin A (e.g. squash) with starches, or Vitamin A or C (e.g. lemon 🍋) with proteins. Since fruit digests quick, you may have cooked food only 1 hour after for water-rich fruit such as melons otherwise 2 hours for the others. However, it is ok to have sweets especially fruit after proteins by 4 hours mininum, fats & starches by 3 hours, and vegetables by 2.5 hours.
How to go around it? Simply follow the recommendations above and take it gradually at 1 month minimum intervals by weaning the self off beef to chicken to turkey to egg to milk to fish. Some vegan recipes can be found at https://photos.app.goo.gl/iTRUQVgYhZ7VPCQz5.
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