If modern civilized man had to kill the animals he eats, the number of vegetarians would rise astronomically.
- C. Morgenstern

If we - that is, society - switched to a vegetarian diet, atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, which accounts for most heart disease, would vanish.
- William Roberts, M.D. editor in chief of the American Journal of Cardiology

From both a moral and health aspect... the benefits of avoiding meat in your diet.

To your best health!

Mark

(quotes from the book 'Your Right to Be Beautiful' by Tonya Zavasta)

Recently, the only co-op in the Phoenix area, Gentle Strength, and a leader in locally grown, organic produce, went out of business.

Why?

Bottom line... not enough shoppers.

Sure there were probably a few other reasons, but the main one was lack of business.

It's funny, though, everyone I talk to in the area is disappointed and saddened by the closing (as I was). However, I believe there was too much talk and not enough action.

If we want to have better, fresher, organic and locally grown choices, we have to support those organizations. Support them with our shopping dollars and with our help in letting others know about the organizations.

Personally, I'll miss the co-op and the friends I've made there. They were the -only- central place to get fresh, locally grown greens and other produce. All the produce sold was organic and as much as possible was sourced locally. The only choices now are the national chains including Whole Foods and Wild Oats (now owned by Whole Foods), a few smaller chains and some traditional grocery chains that now carry some organic produce. I'm happy that they're all carrying more organic foods, although little, if any, is locally grown. Whole Foods advertises 'local' although a quick walk through shows just a few locally grown out of over 200 produce items.

Alternative sources include farmers markets and visiting farms directly. I've found a few farms and frequent farmers markets on weekends and can find some of the same items. Although not as convenient, it's a solution for now.

Find the local co-ops in your area and support them. It's a fact, traditional companies will continue to market non-organic products and source all over the world unless we 'vote' with our dollars. Using as much locally grown organic produce not only supports your community and the environment, the food is also more nutritious and benefits your health.

We can make a difference.. just do it!

To your best health!

Mark

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

One of the wonderful aspects of our change of seasons is the variety of foods we can choose from.

And although in our consumer driven, commercial world where foods of all types are available most everywhere and at most times of the year, there is a great benefit in eating seasonally as well as locally.

Read more...

It's been a very interesting 8 months! As you may know I've been focusing exclusively on raw, whole foods and have avoided most everything else including raw 'junk food'. This includes high fat avocados, dehydrated foods, processed foods, sauces, oils, bars and other foods that contain raw ingredients but have been processed. Basically I've eaten locally or organically grown fruits and veggies with a very limited about of nuts or seeds.

There have been many benefits to this but the one thing that stands out for me has been the ability to feel how everything I eat affects me.

I was fascinated with what I've learned.

Read more...

Mark
www.RawFoodHowTo.com

Something most Americans overlook in today's increasingly active and busy world is one of the simplest and most effective ways to avoid getting sick and dis-ease...

Sleep.

Our bodies are designed to heal themselves of anything, given the right environment and opportunity. Popular wisdom tells us to take this or that... although it normally only masks the symptoms and doesn't 'heal'. Only your body can heal itself of anything if you let it - nothing else. And that's the key... letting it.

If you're feeling under the weather or not yourself, the most effective and natural way to return to a state of good health is to take it easy! Rest, sleep... do nothing and let your body heal itself. Of course popular wisdom tells us that we need to get over that cold, flu or other illness fast (or even faster!) and get back to whatever you were doing (work, school, work :).

This idea of resting has been presented to me several times in the past few weeks and I'm certain it's for a reason. We can easily get caught up with too much on our plates and not take the time to sleep properly and rest. Sleep deprivation and insomnia are at epidemic rates in the US and the decline in health and increase in obesity are equally staggering. A coincidence?

I believe it's time to get back to basics, simplify our lives and take time to rest and get adequate sleep to allow us to live fully with health and happiness always.

What do you think?

To your best health!

Mark

www.VeganRawDiet.com