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But what about milk?

That the dairy industry has succeeded in selling people on this nonsense-that cow's milk is good for them-is truly remarkable and a tribute to the power of pouring money into advertising. But no one tries to defend milk-drinking as natural, because what could be less natural than one species? decision to consume the mammary secretions of another species? It's not as if nature made a mistake - dog mothers' milk for puppies; kangaroo mothers' milk for kangaroos; rat mothers' milk for baby rats; cow mothers' milk for calves - oh, hey, wait a minute! Let's use cow mammary secretions for human beings also, including grown-up ones who shouldn't be drinking any mothers' milk at their age anyway. Of course not.

Nevertheless, the dairy industry would have us believe that consuming its products will protect and even build your bones. The fact is, however, that clinical and population evidence shows us otherwise. For example, in the areas of the world where people consume the most dairy products, you find the highest rates of osteoporosis. What dairy researchers do to spin the results of studies would make George Orwell proud, but in the end, it is obvious that the dairy industry is profit-driven and that it will sacrifice our health in a heartbeat in order to make more money.

FAT KIDS: Recently, there has been a lot of commotion about the fact that kids are getting fatter. One culprit is the soft drink industry, which is signing contracts with school systems to have its products given prominent placement. The dairy industry saw the prospect of a serious payday if it could challenge the soda dominance in schools. So what did the industry introduce? A product with even more sugar than sodas and more than twice the calories? 460 calories in one bottle, and 16 grams of fat to boot! That's almost as much fat as in a McDonald's "Happy Meal," and this is just a beverage. Dairy products are a prescription for obesity, heart disease, lethargy, and a host of other problems. That the dairy industry would actually claim to be doing kids a favor is morally revolting.

Question and Answer Segment

Question person: What's in food?

Answer person: I'll show you:



Carbohydrates = Best source of energy that you need to get up in the morning and live life.

Protiens = Needed to build new cells in your body.

Fats = Can provide energy. Also needed for the absorption of fat-soluable vitamins.

Question person: How much do we need of each one?

Answer person: This much:

Question person: But what does that mean in terms of food?

Answer person: Well, plants have 3 of these macronutrients, so when you eat any plant foods, you are getting some of everything you need.

Meat has NO carbohydrates at all! It is all protien and fat - and it is the bad kind of fat, too - saturated fat.

Here, let's take a look at what some foods have in them:


Question person: Wow, I can see that it would be easier to get all I need by eating plants than by eating animals.

Answer person: You're right - and it's not just because of these macronutrients. Let me tell you more:



Vitamins = Vitamins are made mostly by plants and must be in our diet to prevent disease.

Minerals = Minerals come mostly from the soil and must be in our diet for good health.

Question person: Are you telling me I have to eat dirt??

Answer person: Let me finish! Minerals, like iron, calcium, zinc, and a bunch of others are in the soil. The minerals dissolve in the water in the soil; then they are absorbed into the plants along with the water. When we eat plants, we get the minerals as well.

Question person: What about fiber?

Answer person: Fiber is kind of different, because we need it even though we can't actually digest it. It provides bulk so that our digestive system moves easily and smoothly. It also helps prevent colon cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. And fiber is ONLY found in plants - not animals.

So you see - eating plants is the very best way to get everything you need from your food: protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. There is NO cholesteral in plants - only in animal products.

Question person: Okay - so I get all the nutrition I need rom plants. But will eating plants make me feel better and look better?

Answer person: Absolutely! Here, let me show you some things you'll want to know:

Vegans
biggrin Live longer.
biggrin Less obesity.
biggrin More energy.
biggrin Better complexion.
biggrin Less cancer.
biggrin Less heart disease.
biggrin Less diabetes.
biggrin Less strokes.

Meat Eaters

sad More heart attacks.
sad More obesity.
sad More greasy skin.
sad More cancer.
sad More diabetes.
sad More strokes.
sad More impotence.
sad More food born illnesses.

Answer person: You know, I think people are a lot happier when they aren't having heart attacks, by-pass surgery, cancer, chemotherapy, giving themselves insulin shots every day for diabetes, or being paralyzed by a stroke.

Question person: That all sounds great... but I have more questions. I know a lot of people who eat a lot more protein, like body builders and people on the Atkins diet. What's the deal here?

Answer person: You're right about that. There are a lot of people who are very misinfromed about how much protein we need. The sad part of it is that they are unknowlingly creating some real health risks for themselves. Here... let me explain:

We do need protein to build muscles, but we can't store extra protein in our bodies. Only about 10% of our caloric intake needs to come from protein, even for athletes. This is .36 grams per pound of body weight. Excess protien can be a real problem. The extra protein must be dealtt with by our kidneys and liver, which puts extra stress on them. Also, the extra protein can actually cause us to have weak bones, causing osteoporosis and bones that break easily.

Too much protein, especially animal protein, causes our blood to become acidic. So, to correct this problem, our bodies take calcium out of our bones to buffer the acid. Good for our blood, but bad for our bones!

Question person: But what about milk? I'be heard all my life that I need to drink lots of milk to get the calcium I need for strong bones.

Answer person: Guess what! That's absolutely true -- if you're a baby calf!

Where do you think cows get the calcium they need for their big, strong bones?

From plants, of course! Just like horses, elephants, and moose!

And did you know that about 75% of the world's population is allergic to lactose, which is the kind of sugar found in cow's milk? This is called "lactose intolerance." It causes upset stomach, gas, bloating, and sometimes diarrhea.

Plant Foods High in Calcium

Broccoli.
Collard greens.
Kale.
Legumes (kidney beans, navy beans, soybeans, etc).
Tofu (if set with calcium).
Almonds.
Tahini.
Figs.
Blackstrap molasses.
Fortified soy and grain milks.
Fortified orange juice.
Fortified breakfast cereals.

Question person: You hear a lot of bad things about carbohydrates these days. People just call them "carbs" like there some sort of demon or something. What's with that?

Answer person: Well, that is one of the big food mythes going around these days. They thing "carbs" make you fat. Nothing could be further from the truth! Look at all those people in Asia that eat so much rice. They're not fat!

But now I have to give you some bad news. The carbohydrates found in whole wheat plant foods are bery healthy -- they come in great packages with vitamins, minerals, and fiber --- BUT you can quickly run this great food into junk food, and then it IS a demon!

Hey, you want a recipe for junk food? Just take out almost all the fiber and most of the bitamins and minerals in a plant, mix it with lots of fat and sugar, and viola! Junk food!


It's the same problem with sugar. The sugar found naturally in fruits and vegetables is no problem - but when you seperate the sugar from the plant, you loose all the good stuff. So there you are - back to junk food.

And to make it even worse, a lot of junk food combines white flour, white sugar, and lots of saturated fats - a perfect prescription for getting fat, a bad complexion, low energy, and illness.

Question person: I get what you're telling me. If I wnat to live long, be healthy, and have lots of energy for the fun things in life, I need to eat a plant-based diet of whole foods. This will give me the right balance of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, lots of vitamins and minerals, and lots of healthy fiber - without any cholesteral.

Answer person: Great! Now just combine this with some good exercise and a postive attitude, and get ready for a great life.

This information was taken from Becoming Vegan, by Brenda Davis, P.D., and Vesanto Milina, M.S., R.D., 2000.

This is from my own personal experience, but i've noticed that if I eat a lot of junk food, I can eat a bag of peas and feel so much better afterwards.

That's my little home remedy for eating too much junk.

heh, well my health only improved with my moral food adjustment. Infact I lost quite a lot of weight due to it. That and another reason I won't go into, heh. Don't worry, it's not some sort of amphetamine based drug or anything hehe. It also helped me stop feeling so tired all of the time. So meat free = good. That is my verdict.

If people don't believe they can make a difference compassionately and/or environmentally, hopefully they might do it for their own health. 3nodding

HOLY PUCKY!!! That was a long post. I partially agree with you. Meat can cause problems if it's not eaten right. However, I don't think that veganism necessarily improves people's general well-being. I have a friend that went vegan, and she's kind of bitter. She's really grumpy and tense and is constantly picking fights with me, and she's always tired.

i still drink dairy because i don;'t get enough calcium. if anuone knows how to prepare these foods that have calcium pm me (i'm pretty good with tofuand brocolli but other than that- beans don;t rally seem to have thta much (maybe fresh ones do?)