More evidence that vegetable protein is the healthier choice and actually protects against developing heart disease. Good long term study (15 years) that suggests by avoiding red meat and dairy in your diet, your reduce your chances of developing heart disease by 30 percent.

Yahoo! News - Too Much Red Meat Bad for Long-Term Health:
"After following nearly 30,000 women for 15 years, investigators found that women were more likely to die from heart disease if they often substituted red meat for carbohydrates. In contrast, swapping vegetable sources of protein for carbs appeared to protect women from heart disease.

'Our main finding was that animal compared to vegetable sources of protein seem to have a different effect on dying from heart disease,' study author Dr. Linda E. Kelemen from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota told Reuters Health.

For this reason, she recommended that people who want to follow high protein diets should stick with vegetable proteins such as tofu, nuts and peanut butter, or healthier meats like chicken or fish."

Here's a brilliant example of what happens when you've been eating healthy, choosing a vegan raw lifestyle and then decide to eat 'normal', like most of America does.

Read more...

Well, after almost 14 years of being vegan I realized that in the past few years, I've eaten mostly raw, and have continued to feel better as time passed.

Reflecting on this, well, I just had to stir things up a bit and decided to go 100% vegan/raw :). The transition has been exciting even though I've been almost there for some time, other than the few cooked/heated foods occassionally.

I've noticed some disctinct changes... although I've been vegan for so many years, I'm still going through some detox. One of the many wonderful experiences has been the increase in taste awareness and the literal "explosion" of flavors I experience. It's quite amazing. The variety of whole, raw food meals is amazing and I look forward to trying something new every day.

Continued increase in energy, needing less sleep, mental awareness, vitality, weight loss, feeling light and vibrant are just a few of the many benefits I've been experiencing.

I've found food preparation not only easier, but faster (hey, it was already fast as a vegan!) especially since no cooking is needed. Clean up is brief... I've also dropped the use of my dishwasher to less than once a week.

There have been a few adjustments and I'm sure I'll continue making them along the way.

Here are some resources I've found helpful through the transition to 100% vegan/raw:

• RawFood.com - the store for supplies, as well as the forum and resources
• theGardenDiet and The Anti-Aging Diet - Storm, Jinjee and their family are a real inspiration
• VegSource.com - especially Dr. Graham's forum on Raw Food and Sports Nutrition
• AlissaCohen.com - Alissa has some great resources on the raw lifestyle, health benefits and recipes.
• Raw Secrets - Frederic Patenaude's take on going raw, and how to avoid the mistakes most make in transitioning. His views are slightly different than the mainstream raw movement and make sense. They are a great contribution to anyone looking for advice on going raw.

More as my journey continues. Please share your questions, thoughts and comments!

Peace, joy and health,

Mark
http://vegandiet.blogspot.com

Along with a diet rich in fresh, organically grown foods, consideration should be given to the clothes you wear as well. Not only for the fact that your skin is in constant contact with your clothing, but also for the way certain fabrics are made and their impact on our environment.
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Looking for a healthy, live-food dish? Try this satisfying and easy to make salad I call "Avo-Veg Delight".

What you'll need:

(all fresh, uncooked and preferably organic)

• 1-1 1/2 Avocado
• 1-2 Tomatoes
• Handful Cilantro
• 2-3 Kale Leaves
• 1-2 Green Onions
• 1/3 Red Pepper
• 1/2 Corn on the Cob
• 3-4 Large Romaine Leaves
• Handful Parsely
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 1 tsp Cumin

Optional:

• Sea Salt to taste
• Flax Crackers (GoRaw makes a great -very thick- original flax variety)
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seeds

Here's How To Make It:

In a large mixing bowl mash up avocado. Add all chopped vegetables, squeeze lemon, add cumin and optionally sea salt to taste. Mix up well. Lay out 3-4 large romaine lettuce leaves and add one large scoop of salad on each romaine leaf. Eat as a salad or wrap lettuce leaves around salad and eat burrito style! Enjoy with live flax crackers or your favorite veggies.

Makes 1-2 servings.

This is a very satisfying dish! Enjoy experimenting with different veggies and have fun.

Enjoy and all the best for your health...with living foods!

Mark

Recently I noticed a lively conversation over at Kevin Gianni's Renegade Health Blog about thoughts on a complete 100% raw food diet.

Kevin mentioned since he wasn't 100% raw, he couldn't comment on some aspects of the diet and invited others to share their thoughts.

Being 100% raw for over 3.5 years, I thought I could share some insight. Basically, here's what I wrote.

Read more...

One of the many questions I receive is along the lines of... "it's hard for me to get more greens in my diet, how can I do it?"

The short answer is, it couldn't be easier... if you want to. Making your salad the main dish for dinner is a great start... and then start experimenting with different greens. There's an abundance of green leafy vegetables that you can make into dozens of salads, burritos, wraps and many more.

Here's a favorite that's quick, easy and a great way to increase greens in your diet.

Blended Salad

One of the benefits of blended salads is that you can get a large amount of greens into a meal.. and you can be creative with what you add to the mix. Here's one of my favorite recipes:

(serves 1-2 ... adjust accordingly)

3-4 Kale leaves
5-6 Romaine Lettuce leaves
2 Roma Tomatoes
1/4-1/2 Cucumber
2-3 Green Onions
Handful of fresh Cilantro
1/2 Avocado
Handful Sun Dried Tomatoes
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 Red Pepper
Sprouts (alfalfa, brocolli, etc)
Sprouted Pumkin Seeds

Add all ingredients except green onions, red peppers, sun dried tomatoes and avocado into a blender or food processor and blend until you get a smooth consistency. I recommend adding a little at a time and saving the sun dried tomatoes until the end and blend partially to leave small chunks. Top with chopped avocado, green onions, pumpkin seeds, and sprouts and you have a super green meal! You can be creative and make any combination you'd like... toppings, different greens, vegetables, seeds... make a different one every time and have fun!

Enjoy!

All good things,

Mark