If your looking for answers about the raw food diet and lifestyle, I'm excited to share a new resource that's now available.

Mark Perlmutter, the producer of "Raw For 30 Days" has put together an A-Z encyclopedia of Raw Food including living and raw food experts, celebrities, chefs, doctors that are changing the way people approach health and wellness today.

Read more...

A 12 year study of middle-aged women concluded that increasing intake of fruits and vegetables lowered the risk of obesity and weight gain in middle-aged women by 24-28%. The more they ate, the lower the risk. Read more at:

Study

Ok, so you want to find out more about becoming vegan. Maybe you want to lose weight, maybe you want more energy, maybe you're just curious. Here are the top 10 reasons why I believe being vegan is the best diet for your health and life:

• Instant Conversation Starter - Everyone either has an opinion or is curious about vegetarians and vegans. Over 10 million American have now accepted a vegetarian diet and 20 million more are trying it out. You'll never be stuck when striking up a conversation!
• Enjoy Delicious, Nutritious, Healthy and Pure Foods - Since becoming vegan almost 15 years ago, I've had the pleasure of tasting some of the most delicious variety of foods. Do a little research on the web and see how many vegan recipes are available. Since the vegan diet is growing in awareness, more resources (recipes, foods, information, restaurants) are becoming available making it easier to prepare awesome, delicious and healthy meals. Almost every animal based food has been altered in one way or another. From infected beef (on average, one cubic inch of inspected prime choice beef have 1,000 parasite larva in it), to hormones and other substances found in chicken and meats, to toxins in fish (recent reports from ABC's PrimeTime Live revealed over two-thirds of tested fresh fish had toxic levels of PCB's and 25% had toxic levels of mercury)... eating animal based food is dangerous to your health. Although there is genetically modified and pesticide residue produce on the market, if you buy fresh and organic, you are as close as you get to the healthiest food on earth.
• Have More Time - Preparing most plant-based dishes (also see above), especially raw, on average is faster and easier, leaving you more time to relax and enjoy your meals, family and friends. Growing up with a chef in the family, I saw my mother spending hours and hours preparing meat based dishes in her business. Since then I've watched family and friends sometimes spend days creating meals and feasts on holidays. After becoming vegan, on average I've spent no longer than 15-20 minutes preparing a meal... only longer on occasion. Even shopping is faster. The produce sections are usually next to the entrance in most grocery stores.. most of your foods are conveniently located in one area.
• Don't Worry About Cholesterol - Plant-based foods have zero cholesterol. Eat all the plant-based foods you want and you'll most likely see a drop in your cholesterol levels, never a gain.
• Don't Worry About Your Weight - On average, vegans maintain healthy weight levels. Combined with activity, exercise and stress management, if you are vegan, the probability of you having a weight problem is low. If you're currently overweight, becoming vegan is one of the healthiest and fastest ways to lose weight naturally and keep it off for life.
• Overcome Health Challenges - Your body is amazing. Given the opportunity, it can heal itself. That's how it was designed. The vegan diet gives your body more energy, more tools to rid toxins and more nutrition to enhance your immune system and fight off viruses, germs and disease more efficiently. Nagging health problems often disappear, certain aches or pains seem to subside, and the chances of overcoming serious health challenges are excellent. Medical studies and research now report that most diseases are "diseases of the fork" and in one way or another largely linked to what we eat, in particular animal foods. You'd be surprised to know that every day in America 10 people die as a direct result of food poisoning after eating chicken, and 10,000 more get sick. Chicken is the most common source of food poisoning, more than any type of meat.
• Spend Less on Health Care - If you are healthier, as most vegans are, you will spend considerably less money on doctors visits, insurance, hospitals and medication as well as having more time to enjoy life (rather than being sick). Also, when's the last time you heard about someone getting food poisoning from fruits or vegetables?
• Have More Energy - One of the most common side effects of a vegan diet is more energy. The answer to why is simple. Your body spends less time and resources digesting animal products (they are much less efficient to digest and assimilate into your system - most fruits and vegetables are easily digested) so you automatically have more energy. I remember when I used to eat meat that often after a meal, I would have an overwhelming desire to take a nap. This feeling isn't uncommon, especially after reading a recent survey that reported 43% of Americans felt they were sleep deprived enough that it affected their day-to-day lives. With over 60% of Americans overweight or obese, there seems to be some evidence of a link.
• Feel Better - It's common to hear from vegans that one of the main reasons they decided to stay with the vegan diet is because they just plain feel better. You are lighter on your feet, you're more in tune with your body, you feel the effects of unhealthy or animal-based foods faster, and you have a more relaxed and peaceful composure.
• Live Longer - Studies show that on average, vegetarians (and vegans as well) live longer and have fewer diseases.
• No Disadvantages - That's right, there are no disadvantages to eating a vegan diet that I've found! It's hard to find someone that will defend eating meat as being healthier or more advantageous for you. Only positive benefits await you when you decide to be vegan!

There you have it, my Top 10 Reasons To Be Vegan. It's clearly been one of the best decisions I've made and has changed my life significantly for the better. Feel free to contact me if I can help with any questions. I hope this has helped you in making an informed decision (or at least interesting reading )!

Peace.

The second case of Mad Cow disease in the US was confirmed last week.

What's interesting is that the USDA covered up this last case for seven months. It seems that the original test on the cow that died had mixed results (one positive and one negative) and that conclusive re-testing didn't take place until just a few weeks ago. Seven months is a long time in my opinion and an indicator that the inspection system isn't working.

Could it be pressure from outside sources to make sure beef exports continue and previous bans due to the first Mad Cow confirmation from countries like Japan and Taiwan were reversed?

Would it surprise you to know that currently the US only tests 1 in 90 cows? Back in 2003 it was 1 in 1,700. Japan tests every cow, European countries test 1 in 4.

I predict this is just the tip of the iceberg. With the manner in which meat is processed in the US, there is little chance of getting clean, disease-free, healthy (as nature intended it to be) meat on regular basis - in my opinion.

For example, did you know that the leftover pieces of a slaughtered cow is ground up and fed back to other cows? Well, it was the case until 1997 when they banned this practice. But they still feed cow remains to chickens and pigs. Dead chicken scraps are fed to cows, dead cow scraps are fed to chickens, dead pig scraps are fed to cows. And all the bacteria, disease, manure that's around gets ground up and fed back into feed as well. This just circulates germs, bacteria and disease. It also makes the strains of viruses more resistant to antibiotics. It's crazy! (but efficient) What happened to letting cows feed on grass?

Now let's take hamburgers for example. Did you know that one hamburger can contain hundreds or even thousands of animals? Dr. Robert Tauxe, Chief of food-borne and diarrheal diseases branch of the CDC in a PBS Frontline interview in 2002 disclosed this strange fact. Years ago, when you got a pound of ground beef, it was usually from one or two cows. Not anymore thanks to efficiency in the meat industry.

And if that isn't interesting enough, it's been estimated that as much as 78% of ground beef contains bacteria spread by fecal matter. This is from a study by the USDA and quoted in many books and articles on the subject.

Cows stand around in manure every day. Have you ever visited a dairy or meat processing plant? In my area of the world outside of Phoenix, Arizona there are dozens of dairies. I drive by them almost daily and live within 5-10 minutes of many. One thing you'll notice (or can't miss) when you drive by is the incredible stench (my daughter usually plugs her nose and points it out - if I hadn't noticed!). The cows are all crowded together, covered in mud and manure eating hay and feed. They don't move around much and never see grass. Next door a farm is being sprayed with pestisides and heavy, diesel trucks are moving dirt as a highway is being built around the corner. Am I getting an appetite for a burger and glass of milk after seeing this?

Some of the material above was inspired by Morgan Spurlock's new book "Don't Eat This Book". Haven't finished it yet, but half-way through, I highly recommend it.

Read the whole mad cow article at Yahoo News.
Read the USDA Mad Cow coverup article at the Organic Consumers Asoociation.

I'm glad I'm a vegan

Mark
http://vegandiet.blogspot.com

Would you like to make a difference for our environment and save money on your transportation as well?

Consider this - fuel your car with vegetable oil!

Sound impossible? I was surprised to learn that you can convert almost any diesel car, truck, SUV or RV to run on used (or pure) vegetable oil (which you can most likely get for free from local restaurants since they have to pay to have it disposed) for under $1,000.

Very interesting concept. The benefits claimed are:

• reduced emissions
• lower driving costs
• no difference in auto performance/power
• lower dependence on foreign fuel
• better for the environment
• your exhaust smells like french fries (that's what they say!)

Read more about Grease Cars.

All the best for your health (and driving)!

Mark
http://vegandiet.blogspot.com

by Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who ate a low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy, lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet, researchers said on Thursday.

They lowered their cholesterol more and ended up with better kidney function, according to the report published in Diabetes Care, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association.

Participants said the vegan diet was easier to follow than most because they did not measure portions or count calories. Three of the vegan dieters dropped out of the study, compared to eight on the standard diet.

"I hope this study will rekindle interest in using diet changes first, rather than prescription drugs," Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, which helped conduct the study, told a news conference.

An estimated 18 million Americans have type-2 diabetes, which results from a combination of genetics and poor eating and exercise habits. They run a high risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and limb loss.

Barnard's team and colleagues at George Washington University, the University of Toronto and the University of North Carolina tested 99 people with type-2 diabetes, assigning them randomly to either a low-fat, low-sugar vegan diet or the standard American Diabetes Association diet.

After 22 weeks on the diet, 43 percent of those on the vegan diet and 26 percent of those on the standard diet were either able to stop taking some of their drugs such as insulin or glucose-control medications, or lowered the doses.

The vegan dieters lost 14 pounds (6.5 kg) on average while the diabetes association dieters lost 6.8 pounds (3.1 kg).

An important level of glucose control called a1c fell by 1.23 points in the vegan group and by 0.38 in the group on the standard diet.

DROPPING DRUGS

A1c gives a measure of how well-controlled blood sugar has been over the preceding three months.

In the dieters who did not change whatever cholesterol drugs they were on during the study, LDL or "bad" cholesterol fell by 21 percent in the vegan group and 10 percent in the standard diet group.

The vegan diet removed all animal products, including meat, fish and dairy. It was also low in added fat and in sugar.

The American Diabetes Association diet is more tailored, taking into account the patient's weight and cholesterol. Most patients on this diet cut calories significantly, and were told to eat sugary and starchy foods in moderation.

All 99 participants met weekly with advisers, who advised them on recipes, gave them tips for sticking to their respective diets, and offered encouragement.

"We have got a combination here that works successfully," said Dr. David Jenkins of the University of Toronto, who worked on the study. "The message that we so often get with diet is that it is no good because nobody follows it for very long."

Dr. Joshua Cohen, George Washington University associate professor of medicine, said everyone diagnosed with diabetes is told to start eating more carefully.

"That may be among the hardest things that any of us can do," Cohen told the news conference.

The vegan diet "is at least as good, if not better than traditional approaches," Cohen said.

Vance Warren, a 36-year-old retired police officer living in Washington, said he lowered his a1c from 10.4, considered uncontrolled diabetes, to 5.1, considered a healthy level, over 18 months. "My life is much better being 74 pounds (34 kg) lighter," Warren told the news conference.

(Mark's Note: You'll notice that the vegan diet had almost double the success over the American Diabetes Association Diet recommendations. Also a new movie about how changing your diet to overcome diabetes is coming out... check it out at http://www.rawfor30days.com ... very exciting for your health!)

Mark
www.RawFoodHowTo.com