A recent study has connected the long term consumption of meat to various types of colon cancer. This isn't surprising, undigested meat collects in the colon over the years, preventing the colon from doing it's job, filtering out toxins and poisons. Most American's have 5-10 pounds of impacted waste, much of it undigested meat, in the colon at any one time! Here are some great explanations of why keeping the colon cleaned out and free of the impacts of long term meat consumption:

"The heavy mucus coating in the colon thickens and becomes a host of putrefaction. The blood capillaries to the colon begin to pick up the toxins, poisons and noxious debris as it seeps through the bowel wall. All tissues and organs of the body are now taking on toxic substances. Here is the beginning of true autointoxication on a physiological level. One autopsy revealed a colon to be 9 inches in diameter with a passage through it no larger than a pencil. The rest was caked up layer upon layer of encrusted fecal material. This accumulation can have the consistency of truck tire rubber. It’s that hard and black. Another autopsy revealed a stagnant colon to weigh in at an incredible 40 pounds."

From Tissue Cleansing Through Bowel Management, 1980, by Dr. Bernard Jensen, DC, ND, Ph.D.

"Most people who eat the standard American 'goo and glue' diet have about 5-10 pounds of matter stored in the colon. It's said that, according to the autopsy, John Wayne had 40 pounds of impacted fecal matter in his body at death. Elvis reportedly had 60 pounds."

Reported in the January 11, 1999 issue of USA Today

"In times past, knowledge of the bowel was more widespread and people were taught how to care for the bowel. Knowing the ways of keeping the bowel healthy, and in good shape, is the best way I know to keep away from the grip of disease and sickness."

Dr. Bernard Jensen, Tissue Cleansing Through Bowel Management

A vegan diet helps maintain a clean, regular and fast moving colon, and in turn normal weight and overall better health.

To you best health!

Mark
vegandiet.blogspot.com

Where do you get your protein? Are you sure you're getting enough vitamins and other nutrients? These are questions I've been asked hundreds of times since becoming vegan, and the answers are quite simple. Yes! The vegan diet is not only nutritionally sound, but provides more health benefits that most other diets. Protein is plentiful and in almost every food we eat.

Here's a great introduction to vegan nutrition from the folks at Viva!. Read the entire article for all the details. Note, they are very passionate about the ethical treatment of animals and don't let that overshadow this important nutritional information. Enjoy!

VEGAN NUTRITION: A BEGINNER’S GUIDE

Many people are concerned that giving up dairy products and eggs will make it much more difficult for them to obtain all the nutrients they need. The good everything the body requires can be found in a vegan diet - from Vitamin A to Zinc, from iron to Vitamin B12. The American Dietetic Association recently reviewed the available literature on vegetarianism and veganism and concluded that a vegan diet is both nutritionally-adequate and can even provide health benefits.

The basic human nutritional requirements are protein, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and minerals. A vegan diet will provide them all.

Continue reading the article at Viva!

In talking with many people that have tried to transition to raw, much research and personal experience I've found a central theme around why many people don't successfully transition to a raw diet.

And that theme is Fruit.

Many that try eating more fruit stop because it causes an upset stomach or digestive tract. Some stop because they get hungry right away and don't feel full.

Interestingly enough, the reasons for these difficulties are not related to eating fruit, but most often a different reason. They think it's fruit because it's usually the last item they ate.

Many transitioning to a raw diet consume a large amount of fat from nuts and oils to get that feeling of satisfaction. A high fat diet combined with fruit is a recipe for failure and one of the reasons for digestive difficulties.

Eating fruit and not feeling filled up is many times because not enough of the fruit (calorie wise) was eaten. Additionally, once you start eating larger amounts of fruits regularly, you will begin to lose the feelings of hunger shortly after eating them.

I've found that after a few months of eating mainly fruits throughout the day, my cravings and hunger have gone away. When I am hungry, it's subtle and peaceful. The important thing is to eat a good amount of fruit throughout the day, not just one or two servings.

Frederic Patenaude discusses this at length in The Raw Secrets and cleared up some questions about hunger, fats and how to choose the best selection of foods on a daily basis.

All the best for your health!

Mark
The Vegan Raw Diet

80-10-10 author, 27 year raw foodist, athlete, coach and raw food expert Dr. Doug Graham will be online tonight for an exclusive one hour audio and video presentation and interview, and available at no cost for the next 24 hours.

Read more...

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...

• You can't STAND the smell of any kind of Fast Food no matter how delicious it's supposed to be and you can detect who has just eaten a greasy burger by noticing the odor of Fast Food Ooze coming out of that person's skin
• ...your idea of junk food is celery dipped in tahini, agave, cinnamon and cocoa powder....or the best part of your day is when you get to turn on your juicer
• when the guys in the produce department know your name
• You know that a "9" on the sticker on the fruit/veggie (example: 94031) means the produce is organic.
• Your cravings have gone from chocolate chip cookies to a banana wrapped in romaine leafs!
• when you're packing for a trip and the 1st thing you think of is your juicer.
• when your friends use organic produce to bribe you into doing things for them
• When you're buying fruit and the cashier looks at you puzzled and then asks, "You ate all that fruit you bought yesterday?!"
• ...you start using words that are not in the English dictionary...like RAWESOME.
• you walk into a natural foods store and can barley find something to eat
• you make SEXY sounds while eating a mango....

Source: Nature's First Law Forum

Enjoy... to your best health!

Mark

Being vegan, many people ask where I get my calcium if I don't eat dairy foods (among other nutrients).

For years, I've studied the available research on milk and other dairy products and have always believed that milk, especially in it's current form, is not an essential part of a healthy diet that I would recommend, and can actually be harmful to your health.

Case in point. Some years ago I was speaking with a mother that complained about how many reoccuring ear infections her daughter had and that she was constantly on antibiotics. She also suffered from colds and was sick more often than what she would consider normal. After asking some questions about the girls diet, I found that she drank milk more than several times a day, and consumed other dairy foods and foods containing dairy by-products. I recommended she cut out all dairy products and substitute unsweetened soy or rice milk, fresh vegetables and when she had a craving for something sweet, a non-dairy frozen dessert (made with soy or rice milk).

In less than a month, the mother reported that her daughter hadn't been sick at all during that time, and over the next two years, she had only been sick once or twice with a minor cough or cold. This was a major relief for the mother and a blessing for the girl since she not only felt better, but felt good not having to take medicine all the time.

Now comes evidence that the calcium benefit the dairy industry claims is vital to growing children... well, really isn't. In one of the most comprehensive review of over 27 studies looking into the benefits of calcium from milk sources found that only three out of the 27 studies found any benefit, and very little benefit at that. Read an article detailing the studies here.

Some of the existing research notes that fruit and vegetable sources of calcium are better absorped by our bodies, and that after milk is pasturized and fortified, the calcium is no longer in a form that is easy for us to assimilate and thus not much of a benefit. Studies note that getting out, staying active and exercising will do more for strong bones than drinking milk, a powerful statement that the dairy industry doesn't want you to hear.

Dairy products have been know to cause excess mucus, carry growth hormones (in almost all non-organic milk and dairy products) and cause allergic reactions to a large portion of humans that can't digest or are in some way allergic to dairy products (dairy allergies are one of the top allergies we may have - but most don't know it).

The way I look at it, why go through all the problems associated with dairy products when you can get plentiful calcium in other fruits and vegetables, bio-available vitamin supplements and get stronger bones by exercising and staying active?

Peace.

Mark
http://vegandiet.blogspot.com