Why Veggies?

I love fruit and adore vegetables. I frequently spend half an hour browsing the produce section. I get excited when I come home with a veritable cornucopia of fresh, healthy food. But as much as I enjoy preparing and eating good food, what I really love is sharing it. That's why I created this blog--so that I can share the health and spread the word on how fun and delicious fruits and veggies can be.

You may be wondering,  or, "What about protein?", or "What about calcium?" These are great questions, and ones that I get asked a lot.

 As far as calcium is concerned, think of it this way. Where do most Americans get their calcium? Cow's milk, right?  How'd the calcium get in there? From the grass, of course! While I don't recommend grazing in your back yard, leafy greens like spinach, collard greens,  kale, and even herbs are excellent sources of calcium.

Now, about the protein. For the vast majority of people, protein isn't an issue; if you're getting enough food, you're getting enough protein. Athletes, bodybuilders, and maybe pregnant women may need to make sure that they get enough, but even they can meet their protein needs with a plant-based diet. If you think of food in its primal sense, it is energy to fuel our bodies; that's why we all have to eat. We must eat to live, to keep our bodies going. So, which foods are the best sources of energy? To answer that, we'll turn to basic ecology. To the right is an energy pyramid; it illustrates the amount of energy available at certain levels of the food chain. Notice that the base of the pyramid (where the most energy is available) is filled with plants! Each step in the pyramid (called a trophic level, if you're interested in searching it out on your own) represents a 10% decrease in energy. You may think, "Ten percent isn't that much of a loss." You're right, it's not. But when you eat tilapia, for example, you're not getting a 10% loss, but a 20% or 30% loss in energy because tilapia are carnivorous fish, meaning that they would be in the fourth part of the pyramid. There are aquatic plants, insects and tiny fish that eat them, larger fish that eat those, then tilapia. This is just one example, but it is clear that it is much more energetically beneficial to eat foods from lower on the pyramid.

You'd be right in asserting that mere efficiency is not reason enough to eschew meat and dairy, but wait, there's more! The standard American diet (or SAD) is bursting at the seams with animal products. But these products in such quantities are not good for a healthy body. Just look around you--how many people are obese, diabetic, have cardiovascular problems, or other chronic disease? The truth is, most disease in the US is diet-related and absolutely preventable. Even people in ancient times knew the importance of good food--Hippocrates, the "father of western medicine" said, "Let thy food be thy medicine." A healthy diet is basic preventative care. 

 The majority of Americans are not taking care of their bodies at the basic, dietary level. On a typical day, an American could eat bacon, eggs, buttered toast, and chocolate milk for breakfast; a ham and cheese sandwich or fast food burger for lunch; grilled chicken and canned green beans for dinner. This type of eating is high in LDL (or bad, artery-clogging) cholesterol, and low in HDL (or good, artery-cleaning) cholesterol. Bad cholesterol is only found in animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy products, while good cholesterol is found in whole grains, nuts, and in extremely high amounts in flax seeds. Meat and dairy products are also lacking in micronutrients, those vitamins and minerals which are necessary for a healthy body. Guess where these are found? You got it, fruits and veggies.

Aside from bodily health, there are a host of environmental reasons to lessen the amount of meat and dairy products that you consume, but I'll save that for another post. 

It's not that meat or dairy are altogether terrible for your health, but we could all benefit from increasing the amounts of produce in our diets. That's where my blog comes in! I'll be posting recipes and tips for a healthier, plant-based menu. It'll be delicious too, I promise!  So check back soon for some meal ideas. In the mean time,

Bon Appetit!

Sources for more information about plant-based nutrition, I recommend these documentaries (all available on Netflix streaming):

"Forks Over Knives"
"Food, Inc."
"Fresh"
"Engine 2 Rescue"
"The Gerson Miracle"
"Deconstructing Supper"
"Ingredients"