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highly recommended |
Quantum Wellness 
Multi-dimensional information on body, mind and spirit. I saw this recommended on Oprah and I would also recommend it.
The Truly Inconvenient Truth 
I wanted to respond to those reviewrs who have criticized vegan diets and think they are unhealthy. Here is a recent statement made by Dr. McDougall who has supported a plant based diet for years.
Plants--the Original Sources of Protein and Amino Acids
Proteins are made from chains of 20 different amino acids that connect together in varying sequences--similar to how all the words in a dictionary are made from the same 26 letters. Plants (and microorganisms) can synthesize all of the individual amino acids that are used to build proteins, but animals cannot. There are 8 amino acids that people cannot make and thus, these must be obtained from our diets--they are referred to as "essential."
After we eat our foods, stomach acids and intestinal enzymes digest the proteins into individual amino acids. These components are then absorbed through the intestinal walls into the bloodstream. After entering the body's cells, these amino acids are reassembled into proteins. Proteins function as structural materials which build the scaffoldings that maintain cell shapes, enzymes which catalyze biochemical reactions, and hormones which signal messages between cells--to name only a few of their vital roles.
Since plants are made up of structurally sound cells with enzymes and hormones, they are by nature rich sources of proteins. In fact, so rich are plants that they can meet the protein needs of the earth's largest animals: elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and cows. You would be correct to deduce that the protein needs of relatively small humans can easily be met by plants.
In regards to buying your meat from farms and ranches that treat animals humanely do so if you can, but realize that most meat is coming from large operations. The Union of Concerned Scientists released a report on how "the U.S. livestock industry has been undergoing a drastic change over the past several decade. Huge CAFO's (confined animal feeding operations) have become the predominant method of raising livestock, and the crowded conditions in these facilities have increased water and air pollution and other types of harm to public health and rural communities.
"A groundbreaking 2006 United Nations report found that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined. Luckily, we can help fix this problem by changing our diet. According to a 2006 study done by researchers at the University of Chicago, most Americans can reduce more greenhouse gas emissions by becoming a vegan than they can by switching to a hybrid electric car. They found that eating a vegan diet prevents the equivalent of 1.5 tons of CO2 emissions every year, more than the 1 ton of CO2 emissions prevented by switching from a typical large sedan to a Toyota Prius."
If you can stomach to really see how the meat on your table is handled while it is still living visit this site: http://www.chooseveg.com/animal-cruelty.asp
How about this fact: Cows have a natural lifespan of about 25 years and can produce milk for eight or nine years, but the stress caused by factory farm conditions leads to disease, lameness, and reproductive problems that render cows worthless to the dairy industry by the time they are four or five years old, at which time they are sent to the slaughterhouse. Cows would naturally make only enough milk to meet the needs of their calves (around 16 pounds a day), genetic manipulation, antibiotics, and hormones are used to force each cow to produce more than 18,000 pounds of milk a year (an average of 50 pounds a day). "
Few consumers realize that veal is a direct by-product of the dairy industry. In order for dairy cows to produce milk, they must be impregnated. While female calves are slaughtered or added to the dairy herd, many male calves are taken from their mothers when they are as young as one day old and chained in tiny stalls to be raised for veal. The confinement is so extreme that they cannot even turn around or lie down comfortably. As author John Robbins notes, "The veal calf would actually have more space if, instead of chaining him in such a stall, you stuffed him into the trunk of a subcompact car and kept him there for his entire life."
Choosing to go vegetarian wasn't that difficult for me. Choosing to go vegan was a lot harder. It isn't convenient but I do believe I eat a better and healthier diet than before. These two quotes along with the video I linked to above really helped push me over the edge in making a change in my diet.
?Choosing to go vegetarian is simply a matter of living according to the values so many of us hold dear, such as being fair and kind to others. Most people would never dream of cramming up to 11 egg-laying hens into a file drawer-sized cage, ripping the testicles out of a screaming baby piglet, or cutting the throat of a cow as she stares back at you with her big brown eyes. How then, as compassionate individuals, can we justify paying others to carry out these atrocities on our behalf?"
"The average vegetarian saves the lives of approximately 95 animals each year. That adds up to thousands during a lifetime. Every time we eat, we are making a powerful choice that has profound consequences on the lives of animals. At each meal, we make a decision between supporting cruelty or living compassionately."
Lastly my husband and I have a wonderful collection of vegan cookbooks. There are a lot of resources that make such a diet very practical.
Good start on Wellness
I just finished the "Quantum Cleanse", one component of this book, last Friday. I heard about the book from both Oprah and Dooce. I really liked it, but in different ways than either Oprah or Dooce. The cleanse is really one small part of balancing your life and becoming more spiritual and happy. (Although I did lose 6 lbs! WOOHOO!)
And in the more eastern tradition, this is NOT a step by step "how to" process in self-improvement. It's a suggestion about how to find the right path for you to develop into what you should be. There is scant real information on how to do the cleanse and more suggestions on figuring it out for yourself. (for example, some of the vegan meals and recipes cited in the back are NOT cleanse appropriate).
Still, I like the holistic yet slow focus on getting on the right path for you. Seriously, it's an inspirational book on getting healthier, happier and making yourself whole.
reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
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