Written and maintained by Jack Norris
Registered Dietitian and President of Vegan Outreach

http://www.veganhealth.org/

Keepin' It Real: Introduction to VeganHealth.org

VeganHealth.org exists to:

Help people make the transition to a plant-based diet.
Provide accurate information about the known health benefits.
Give specific nutritional recommendations.
Plant-based diets include:

Semi-vegetarian - eat only small amounts of animal flesh.
Vegetarian
Lacto-ovo-vegetarian - eat no animal flesh, but sometimes eats eggs
and dairy products.
Vegan - eat no animal flesh, eggs, or dairy products.
Vegan Outreach promotes a vegan diet to prevent the suffering of
animals. Since the average American consumes thousands of animals over
the course of a lifetime, each person who eats a vegan diet makes a
difference by removing their support from the factory farming and
slaughtering of these animals.

This site includes a summary
http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/research
of the long-term, scientific studies on vegetarians and vegans. The
few studies that included vegans have not supported the idea that a
vegan diet is vastly superior to a diet that includes some meat or a
lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. Some vegans have found this to contradict
what they have always heard. This can be explained by a few things:

Popular vegan literature has often extrapolated rates of heart disease
and some cancers, in cultures that eat little meat or among people who
eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, as indications of the health
status of vegans. This cannot substitute for studying true vegans.

Risk factors such as cholesterol levels have been used to make
projections about the health of vegans, but these do not necessarily
tell the whole story. For example, while vegans' cholesterol levels
are on average lower than meat-eaters, vegans who neglect vitamin B12
and omega 3's are possibly counteracting their low cholesterol levels.

Many groups promoting veganism do not want to bring attention to any
nutritional concerns. While this might initially attract more people,
getting people to stay vegan is the harder and more important task and
addressing concerns is a more sustainable way to promote the diet.
"I was vegan for awhile, but..."

While many people thrive on a vegan diet, I have also met a lot of
people who tried to be vegetarian or vegan and hadn't felt healthy.
When someone is committed to reducing animal suffering, there are
often solutions to these dilemmas, and finding answers has been a
major focus of my nutrition writing.

Something as simple as not eating enough calories might be a problem
for an uninformed person who decides to give the vegan diet a try for
a few days. They might only be aware of low-calorie vegan foods (e.g.,
salads, vegetables, fruits), and eating only these foods for a day
might leave them feeling hungry and weak.

Of course, many advocacy groups are actively trying to educate people
about the wide variety of satisfying vegan foods. In promoting the
diet, each person could help prepare potential vegans for the real
possibility that they won't feel good if they don't choose some
calorie-dense foods.

Vitamin B12 in plant-based diets has long been a source of controversy
and ideas that have turned out to be wrong. (In fact, it has been
surrounded by so much controversy that a large portion of this site is
dedicated to discussing vitamin B12.) This has led to many vegans
getting B12 deficiency. Even today, many vegans do not understand the
importance of a reliable supply of vitamin B12.

Nutritional myths have a way of going from one extreme to the other -
either something is such an issue that people should not be vegan, or
it is not important at all. The truth is often in the middle. Protein,
calcium, and vitamin D are examples.

People once believed that in order to rely on plant proteins, you had
to combine particular foods at every meal. We now know this is not
true, but in countering the myth, claims have gone from "You don't
need to combine proteins," to "It's easy to get enough protein on a
vegan diet," to the harmful "It's impossible not to get enough
protein!" On average, vegans get enough protein, but vegans who avoid
legumes and soyfoods might not be getting enough and could feel
unhealthy.

As for calcium, you can pick and choose a few studies to support the
idea that animal protein, including protein in milk, is the main cause
of osteoporosis. And following this line of logic, it would make sense
that vegans therefore do not need to worry about osteoporosis since
they are not eating animal protein. I wish it were true, but someone
who evaluates more of the research will likely conclude that vegans,
like non-vegans, should ensure good sources of calcium and vitamin D
on a daily basis.

I would like to see vegan advocates promote the diet in such a way
that we minimize the chances of someone having a bad experience. In so
doing, future, long-term studies on vegans could show us to have
better health than our meat-eating counterparts.


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VeganHealth.org





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Hansom <0>++<0>




Avoid the rush at the last judgement. Be converted now instead!


PRAYER FOR A NATION


When Pastor Joe Wright, of Central Christian Church, was asked
to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting
the usual politically correct generalities.
But what they heard instead was this:

Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness
and seek your direction and guidance.
We know Your Word says,
‘Woe on those who call evil good,’ but that’s exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.

We confess that:

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism;

We have, worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism;

We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle;

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery;

We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation;

We have killed our unborn and called it choice;

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem;

We have abused power and called it political savvy;

We have coveted our neighbour’s possessions and called it ambition;

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression;

We have ridiculed the time-honoured values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, 0 God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us;
cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have
been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state.

Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the centre of Your will. I ask it in the name of Your Son, the Living Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.”


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