Healthy and Hearty School Lunch Choices Needed

When I was a child, I was taught the four basic food groups (the Meat Group, the Dairy Group, the Fruit and Vegetable Group, and the Cereals and Grains Group). Seems as though the Federal Health Guidelines haven't changed very much. Public and private school children are still being fed an unhealthy diet that causes diseases, although it is now officially called "The Food Pyramid". The USDA still calls what should be called the Calcium category, the "Milk" group. Even more shocking is that even their mediocre recommendations aren't being met by a huge percentage of schools. Their details on their "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" should be researched better and should be replaced with PCRM's "The New Four Food Groups" (Fruit, Legumes, Whole Grains, Vegetables); PCRM's easy to read illustrated handout can be found here. Our schools should be required to live up to PCRM's standards, with severe penalties for noncompliance. The present and future health of our nation is dependent on them.

The Hawkeye (a Burlington, Iowa, newspaper) had an article last week about a vegetarian high school senior that is not being offered proper vegan options for her daily school lunch (plain iceberg lettuce is NOT a good option). This reminded me, again, of the changes that need to be made in the quality of foods that are served to the youth of America. Dietary guidelines should be based on actual researched and proven facts, not on old wives' tales from decades ago.

Diet directly affects learning. We should be giving our children the very best foods, not the second rate foods that the schools are cooking. While as an Unschooler I don't believe in testing children as an accurate indicator of their true knowledge, I still find the results of diet on actual learning to be astounding.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has this recent news release on the school lunch program. The "report card" made for various schools regarding the actual healthiness of the foods that they offer to their students is very enlightening!

What can you do? Demand that your children are being offered healthy food choices. Stand up for their health. Write to your state representatives. Don't support the school lunch program until it is changed. Pack your children's lunches every day. Be aware of your own diet and talk to your children about your own food choices. You could even ultimately make the same decision as my family made and keep your children home.

Cholesterol Free Diet

I keep hearing (and reading) about cholesterol lowering drugs. Random strangers at parks, checkout lines, and luncheon meetings tell me their woes about having high cholesterol. It makes me feel like climbing on a rooftop and screaming at the top of my lungs, "A VEGAN DIET IS A CHOLESTEROL FREE DIET."

As my friend Peggy from Lovin' Spoonfuls says, "Heart Disease is a Meat Disease." This is a proven fact.

If you don't eat cholesterol, you don't have high cholesterol. It just isn't physically possible.

Would you rather be burdened with drugs and constant worry over your diet and the quantity you consume, or would you rather be drug-free and eat a virtually unlimited McDougall style lowfat vegan diet that is full of all the flavor you are used to and MORE? It's a non-question to me. It doesn't surprise me that the people with the most bodily health complaints are the ones with their plates full of the most meat and dairy.

I hear it all the time: "But, I love flavor. I could never eat a bland vegan diet." This is another silly myth about vegan diets!

I love food. I love a wide variety of flavors and textures and I demand to eat only food that is high quality and tastes fantastic. No mediocre foods for me and my family, yet we always have more delicious food in our house than we could possibly eat in one sitting. We seldom have problems eating out, either. We've just learned HOW to order and HOW to prepare food. It really isn't that hard once you are used to it. We've actually found that all of our previous foods' flavors actually came from the toppings and sauces anyway. We still eat those toppings and sauces (some needed to be "veganized"), we just now put them on vegetables, grains, seitan, and tempeh instead of cholesterol laden meats.

Try it for a month. Get your cholesterol tested today, then eat according to PCRM's guidelines for a month, then get your cholesterol tested again. You just might be shocked with delight at how a simple change in diet can improve your health so drastically!

Breast Cancer Prevention -- It is possible! -- Part 2

"What if you or someone you love already has cancer? Shouldn't you be supporting the organizations that help in the research?"

Yes, definitely! My post yesterday wasn't saying you shouldn't; quite the opposite actually! Just look into what each organization is actually doing before giving them your well earned money. Do you want to support actual cures, or do you want to support a few more drugs that might kill off already existing cancer, yet do nothing for helping the person be healthy now and in the future?

Most people have no better way of showing their support for something than how they spend their money. Even people that have very little money can make a huge difference in this world just by choosing where their money goes.

I give my money to causes that I support. I know where the money is going and I approve of how it is spent. I encourage others to do similarly.

I write in order to help empower people to choose their lives for themselves! Just because your grocery store might have decided that an organization is worth supporting doesn't mean that you should (doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't, either). Choose for yourself what you believe in, then use your money to support it.

The vast majority of cancers are caused by dietary factors. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine shows the following:

Estimated Percentages of Cancer Due to Selected Factors

• Diet 35-60%
• Tobacco 30%
• Air and Water Pollution 5%
• Radiation 3%
• Medications 2%

While radiation and pollution factors aren't always easily controlled, diet, tobacco, and medications are. "Foods are important, not only in preventing cancer, but also in improving survival for those who already have cancer." If you have cancer, it is essential that you make your diet healthier immediately in order to have the highest chance of survival. If you want to make a difference in cancer research, use your money to help in the research that shows how diet affects health.

For more information on breast cancer survival, prevention, and mammography, check out the Cancer Project site.

Breast Cancer Prevention -- It is possible!

With October being "Breast Cancer Awareness" month, I've been asked at just about every check-out counter I've been to whether I'd like to donate to breast cancer research or not. I've always said no and I've been made to feel like an ogre for this. I'm not. With Do Life Right, I am promoting a true healthy diet (low fat pure vegetarian -- vegan) that prevents diseases from occurring. This is a much better use of my time, energy, and money than donating to these organizations or participating in a walk for the cure. If you check out the various awareness sites, you'll find no mention of how a vegan diet can cure diseases and little information on food at all. You'll mostly find information on drugs and other "therapies" with a little information thrown in about moderate exercise and getting more fiber. This is not enough!

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has this to say: "Breast cancer rates are dramatically lower in countries where diets are typically plant-based. When people from those countries adopt a Western, meat-based diet, their rates of breast cancer soar. "

This isn't new information, although it isn't well publicized. Doctors such as Dr. John McDougall have been telling their patients and the world about this information for over thirty years, check out his information on breast cancer (there are a bunch of wonderful articles listed on this page!). While you are reading, check out The Cancer Project's information on Cancer Prevention and Survival for Breast Cancer, too.

McDougall also dispels the myth of mammograms. Have you been lead to believe that these are a necessary part of a woman's health care? They shouldn't be! The unpopular truth is that mammography fails. (Be sure to read the mammography links on the McDougall website.)

For in-depth information on diet and how it affects our health, check out The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. I strongly believe that in another thirty years this information will be well known. People will be saying, "I wish someone would have told me the benefits of a vegan diet all those years ago. It would have saved me so much suffering." I'm here, telling you now in 2007. Please do the research yourself! The information and proof exists. Take back your health today! It is never too late to become a healthier you.

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I will give credit where credit is due. The American Breast Cancer Foundation, the A.P. John Institute for Cancer Research, the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade, and the United Cancer Research Society have all passed PCRM's "Humane Charity Seal of Approval". None do testing on animals (which is a very good thing!). I still strongly believe that if you are wanting to donate money to a worthy organization, your best bet is PCRM. Dollar for dollar, they are doing the best to actually help and prevent diseases.

Unschooled Vegan Children? Yes, They Can Exist!

My two daughters, ages 7 and 11, are vegan. They've both been vegetarians their whole lives and vegan for the last couple of years. I'm often poo-pooed in Unschooling circles, since many Unschoolers are Radical Unschoolers and believe that children should be allowed to eat what they want when they want it (and not forced to eat anything, nor disallowed from eating other things). I find this interesting. These people make a lot of assumptions about our dietary decisions based on the fact that I am the mother in this family. They are forgetting that we, too, are Radical Unschoolers and did not take on the decision to become a vegan family lightly nor without a lot of thought, research and time.

These Radically Unschooled Vegan children of mine are healthy, strong, and brilliant. Their bodies and minds are healthy and pure. They don't get sick often and are growing at a healthy rate. While their genetics make it appear that they should have a variety of ailments and maladies by their ages, neither does. While it is still possible for them to have something physically wrong with them later in life, their chances are significantly reduced by their diets.

Do I leave this decision up to them, as Radical Unschooling dictates? Yes. My children are allowed to eat whatever they want, whenever they want it. They have, individually, decided to become vegan on separate occasions with no pressure from any other member of our family or anyone else. If anything, I pressured them not to become vegan even as their hearts and minds encouraged them to. I didn't want to make this decision for them, yet honestly told them the facts as they asked (many questions over years). My children can, at any time, eat whatever they want (I always do point out what ingredients are in various food items when we are at potlucks, etc., as many of our personal vegan foods do not look vegan and could easily be confused with their meat/dairy counterparts). While we do have a completely vegan kitchen at this point, I would drive them to a restaurant and purchase non-vegan food for them if they asked me to -- they know this. With all the incredible vegan choices available today, they've never made that choice. They know that they can though; control of their bodies and what to consume are their decisions. Their lives are theirs. They listen to their bodies' wisdom and always make the right decision for them. And, they always know that whatever their decisions are, I will never be disappointed in them. Veganism is a very big decision and I've left it up to them to make it.

From the moment my oldest daughter was born, she showed that she was not going to consume anything unless she knew EXACTLY what it was. At the time, my husband and I were omnivores, eating meat and/or dairy with every meal. Our baby refused to eat anything except breastmilk until she was nearly a year and a half old. Considering that both her father and I had had serious dietary caused ailments by that age and she had none, her baby wisdom was a lot smarter than what doctors were telling us.

It wasn't until she was three or four that she asked to possibly eat a bit of meat that was on my plate. She wondered what it was. We said chicken. She wondered if the word chicken we were using was the same word chicken that was the bird that we saw in books and in chicken coops. She first thought we were kidding when we said yes and she laughed and laughed. When she saw that we were serious, she was flabbergasted, then appauled, then very upset with us. She made us seriously consider our own personal food choices. She led us on our journey to veganism. She was our leader, our teacher, our guide. In an Unschooling family, the learning goes in all directions -- Not just from the older people down. We are on this journey together, learning every day -- together.

All four members of my family are introverts. We relish in our time alone in the solitude of our own home. However, several years ago my oldest daughter wanted to become a vegan activist. She led our way on that journey, too, and it is her that I thank every day for broadening my mind and my world so much. I wouldn't be who am I today without her wisdom. Without her, I never would have wondered if it was my diet that was causing all of my ailments. Without her, I never would have attempted an elimination diet. Cutting out all animal products from my diet has been the best health decision I have ever made. I am presently disease-free and that is something that could not be said about me my entire life before I became a vegan. Without my daughter, I never would have started this very site.

Are you interested in vegetarianism or veganism, but aren't sure it is a healthy decision for growing children? Here are a few fabulous resources for you to start your own research with:

• Keeping Kids Healthy article on "Raising Vegan Children"
• VegFamily site
• Dr. McDougall's site (do a search for "children" on this site -- there is a lot of great information there)
• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's take on what children should eat
• Do Life Right's aStore on Healthy Diets
• The very best book on this topic is: Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Joel Fuhrman
  

As with all topics and subjects in my family's life, we are open and honest and factual with our children. They asked the questions about food and diet, and together we explored and researched to find the answers. We did not hide the truth about food from our children, just as we do not hide the truth about anything from them. We tell them what we know and we research the rest. Kids are smart and can come to decisions and conclusions on their own if they know the facts. It is up to us, as their parents, to keep our minds open as we explore the world together.

What about protein?

This is probably the most frequent question I receive when I tell people that I am vegan.

"Don't you just feel weak all the time?" the questions continue... [They are usually asked by an extremely unhealthy looking person, too. One that has just spent the previous 30 minutes talking about his/her ailments and plans to continue to talk about their ailments for the duration of our conversation.]

I'm not trying to preach to the choir here, and clearly this question is considered a real question by many, so I will answer it here:

Emphatically, NO. I really don't know how to say it more plainly. I, and countless other vegans, have never felt stronger and healthier in our lives. The idea that people need to consume animal protein in order to be strong is a sad myth. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has a lot to say about the Protein Myth. I had the opportunity to meet Neal D. Barnard, M.D. last year. He, and the other PCRM people definitely practice what they preach. They glow with health.

Think you can't be a good athlete without eating meat? Think again! There are many successful and extremely healthy topnotch vegan athletes around the world that prove their strength and agility every day.

Dr. McDougall has a lot of information on his site regarding the protein myth, also.

And, of course, I can't forget to mention The China Study again. This book by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. is the book to read if you are interested in reading real studies regarding protein in diets. His conclusions are irrefutable.

What do you eat?

Some of the questions I get asked most frequently, are: "What do you eat?", "What do you eat in groups of omnivores?", and "What does your family do with all that time with your children since they aren't in school?". With this blog, I am going to attempt to answer these questions over time and I'll mention our most recent great finds.

Check out Vegan Done Light's new cookbook. You can purchase it here. This cookbook is downloadable and can be purchased for only $9. You can see wonderful interviews of Dr. John McDougall and Dr. Neal Barnard, two of my ultimate favorite vegan advocates, on Vegan Done Light's website. While you are at it, be sure to check out the McDougall Program and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Both are life changing for a person that wants to live the healthiest life possible.