Rabu, 28 April 2010

Vegetarian Athletes - At The Top of Their Game

David Tyree may have been the star of the Super Bowl, helping the New York Giants beat the previously undefeated New England Patriots, but in my eyes, Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Tony Gonzalez is the biggest NFL champion. His team may not have made the Super Bowl, but as The Wall Street Journal recently reported, Gonzalez proved that a football player can be powerful without eating heaping helping of meat, eggs, and dairy products. Gonzalez has acknowledged that the meat-heavy diet typically eaten by football players can lead two serious health problems, including heart disease and cancer, and is promoting plant-based foods.

A number of other professional athletes and Olympic superstars have touted the benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets. Four-time Mr. Universe Bill Pearl, powerlifting champion Bill Mannetti, 1951 Mr. America Roy Hilligenn, Stan Price, the world record in the bench press, and football player and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard all reportedly did not eat meat. These power houses Are not alone some of the strongest animals, such as apes, elephants, and giraffes, are herbivorous.

International Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness Federation and International Natural Bodybuilding Association bodybuilder Robert Cheek is perhaps the world's most Recognized vegan bodybuilder and popular strength trainer Mike Mahler says that "Becoming a vegan had a profound effect on my training. ... [M] y bench press excelled past 315 pounds, and I noticed that I recovered much faster. My body fat also went down, and I put on 10 pounds of lean muscle in a few months. "

Other vegetarian athletes, including tennis superstar Martina Navratilova and Dave Scott, a six-time winner of the Ironman triathlon, have repeatedly beaten their carnivorous competitors. Swimmer Murray Rose, a vegetarian since birth, has six Olympic medals. Debbie Lawrence is an Olympic race walking champ, and discus thrower Al Oerter has won at least four Olympic gold medals. A healthy vegetarian diet helped prop two-time Olympic gold medalist Edwin Moses over the hurdles, and Olympian Carl Lewis has said that his best year of track competition was the first year that he ate a vegan diet.

Famed Argentinian soccer goalkeeper Carlos Roa, was nicknamed "La Lechuga," meaning "The Lettuce," because of his strict vegetarian diet. Bill Walton And Robert Parish, two of the greatest basketball players of all time, were vegetarians, and John Salley, another professional basketball star, is a vegan. So is ultra-marathon Mon Dom Repta, who has run 100 miles in just under 20 hours.

Australian Cricket superstar Greg Chappel also abstains from animal flesh and animal by-products and fellow cricket superstar Anil Kumble has posed for a PETA advertisement promoting vegetarianism. Says Anil, "vegetarianism saves animals' lives and can not be beat for Maintaining a muscular body and building endurance. Vegetarian food contains all the vitamins and protein you need to be at your best and is free of all the fat, cholesterol and toxins found in meat. "

It does not matter if you're playing for fun or playing for championships, if you want to excel, practice hard and eat a vegan diet healthy. See http://www.VegCooking.com for recipes that are fit for a champ!

Heather Moore is a senior writer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in Norfolk, Va.. where she lives with her rescued, however, Carly. Heather frequently writes on vegetarianism and health issues as a freelance writer and for PETA. This work has appeared in IMPACT Press, Enlightened Practice Magazine, Animal's Agenda, I Love Cats, New Mobility, Satya, Wadi, Vivid, Writer's Post Journal, and many other publications.

How to Convert to a Vegan Diet in 6 Easy Steps

Congratulations on considering a switch to a vegan diet. If you have gotten this far in your conversion, you already understand the benefits of the vegan / vegetarian diet, so I will leave that discussion for another article. While many are Able to simply flip a switch and assume a new life, following are some simple guidelines two assistants the rest of us.

1st Write a list of the benefits that you expect two accomplish with your new diet. Many convert to vegan / vegetarian diets for health or weight loss reasons. Others do so two reduced their impact on the environment or DETACH two themselves from the unethical slaughtering of animals that is implicit in the meat industry. Yet others, like myself, convert dove two philosophical reasons or because they simply feel more "right with the world" as a vegan / vegetarian. Whatever your reason, get in touch with the new you.

2nd Recognize that some compromises will have to be made. The food you eat will likely be different from the food that many of your family, friends and close colleagues will eat. Prepare yourself to explain that your conversion is important to you and that you will not judgmental them, nor do you expect to be judged by them.

3rd Many find that getting comfortable on a lacto-ovo (including dairy and egg-food items) vegetarian diet for a few months helps before the full conversion to a vegan diet is helpful. Be prepared to lose a few pounds of body weight while you experiment with new foods. If you have already gotten used two tofu and other soy products such as temper and textured vegetable proteins (ZDF), you are ahead of the game. If not, do not fear, that you will find these products (they are readily available in health food and large grocery stores) can be made two closely resemble and taste like their meat counterparts, the reducing change you will have to experience.

4th Search the Internet for vegan / vegetarian recipes. Though restaurants are becoming Increasingly accommodating of vegan / vegetarian diets, one of the benefits for me in the early years was the necessity of Preparing many of my own meals made me a better cook and I saved money compared to eating out. There are also many vegan cookbooks that are readily available.

5th If improved health was one of Your motivation for your conversion two a vegan / vegetarian diet, Recognize that you still must be mindful of the quality of the ingredients in your food. Try to Utilize whole grains and pastas; use cooking oils high in omega 3 fatty acids, such as hemp, flax or olive oils, avoid sugars and glucose (yes, including honey) and other simple carbohydrates like processed grains as much as possible; Ensure you get enough protein from beans, legumes, nuts and related products (consider a plant-based protein supplement if your diet is Calorie-restricted).

6th Cast a shining light of health and happiness. You are making the world a Better Place. Your food choices protect the spirit of life.

The Benefits of a Flexitarian Lifestyle

Have you ever considered becoming a vegetarian but can not imagine your Meals without Meat?

Wish Many people to follow the vegetarian lifestyle is the Health Benefits, but can not imagine not eating Meat. Why not become a Flexitarian?

The Flexitarian is somebody who Follows the Mainly vegetarian diet with occasional Meat consumption. It Has Been by Health Authorities suggest that 2 or 3 Meat Free Days per week can be of great Benefit to health.

Grocery Stores carry a much Wider range of vegetarian and natural Whole Foods now than ever before, so it is very easy to work this exciting way of eating into your diet without losing taste and variety.

Let's talk a little more about the Health Benefits of Meat Cutting down the products from the diet. Some of the Benefits are: -

The likelihood of the infectious diseases and cancers are reduced.

Blood pressure and the cholesterols levels will be reduced.

vegetarian on average weigh about 15% less Meat eaters, You Can Eat to Lose Weight!

By eating a more plant based foods Blood Sugar levels stabler Leaving You Will remain satisfied for longer and less to Reach for the snacks.

You see the Will the Reduction In Your Grocery Bill.

Although some of Cutting Meat products out of the diet may be beneficial to health, it is very important to ensure that the Balanced diet being eaten. There are many other ways to get protein into your diet without eating Meat Every Day, for example chick Peas are a great source of protein and Fibre and are a very versatile cooking ingredients. The Chick Pea Salad is perfect for the summer!

Vegetarian Vs Meat Lovers

Non-vegetarians may find it fascinating how some people are able to give up meat and become accustomed to an entirely different lifestyle. The truth is vegetarians make that switch for quite a number of sensible reasons.

Most vegetarians claim that most of them have chosen to make the switch to a meat-free diet for at least one out of three reasons.

The first and most common reason is that there are various ethical problems that arise from eating meat. Most people may think that debeaking chickens, forcing them to live in small cages, and slaughtering them when they don't produce eggs fast enough is inhumane.

Most vegetarians also find it bothersome to have animals live in such crowded and stressful environments. The fact that most of these animals are fed with hormone-laden feed doesn't help either.

People who become vegetarians because of this often draw ethical boundaries at different points, depending on their ethical beliefs. For example, some vegans will not even eat yeast, wear wool, or eat certain vegetables like carrots, which require killing the plant to harvest.

On the other hand, some vegans, also referred to as pseudo-vegans, actually think that it's okay to eat fish and chicken on a regular basis.

The second most popular reason that most vegans make the switch is because eating meat conflicts with their dietary preferences, while some simply don't enjoy the texture and taste of meat. Others avoid meat for health concerns, especially those who are having problems with high cholesterol.

The third reason that most vegetarians cite as their reason for conversion is the fact that consuming meat hurts the environment. According to them, the consumption of meat causes farmers to continually deforest vast lands in order to make way for cattle grazing land.

These are just a few of the reasons that people switch to meat-free diets. In fact, there are quite a number of smaller vegan groups who chose to avoid meat for entirely different reasons than the ones listed above.

What Are the Types of Vegetarians?

A vegetarian is a person who does not eat anything that ever had a heartbeat, a face or a mother. In other words, no animal flesh in the least. Someone who claims to be a vegetarian but eats fish or fowl, for example, is not a vegetarian but an omnivore with a qualified diet. Omnivores eat plant life and flesh. For carnivores, meat is the mainstay of their diet. There are three general types of vegetarians: 1. Vegan 2. Lacto 3. Ovo-lacto.

"Vegan" (pronounced "vee-gun") describes one who eats no animal products at all. This includes abstention from eggs, egg whites and all dairy products. 'Vegans' comprise the strictest type of vegetarians. "Lacto" references those vegetarians who include dairy in their diet but no eggs or egg whites. "Ovo-lacto" is that group which includes eggs and dairy. They comprise the largest class of vegetarians. However, no vegetarian consumes any product whose ingredients are derived from the flesh of living creatures. Cautious vegetarians even avoid soups and broths made with beef or chicken bases and foods containing gelatin which is made by boiling animal remains.

Vegetarians are Growing in number. Because of the many salutary benefits of this dietary regimen, it is not inconceivable to consider that eventually more people will be 'vege-heads' than 'flesh-heads'. It is simply a process of education and experience and wanting to live a healthy and spiritually whole life. Being a vegetarian, once heralded as strange and weird, is now quite accepted. With the relative abundance of non-meat foods and products on the market today, a number that is growing rapidly, it is easy to make the switch. All one has to do is overcome the inertia of his conditioning - not a difficult task when one considers the trade-off and benefits of the transaction.

Basic Healthy Eating Guide

There are so many surveys and studies published that it's not always easy to discover a basic healthy eating guide. One week, a low carbohydrate diet is healthy for you. Another week you should be turning vegetarian. Sometimes, drinking red wine is good for you. Other times, you should avoid alcohol at all costs. Who should you believe?

Ultimately, finding a basic healthy eating guide is a matter of common sense. Using history to help is also a good start. Over the years, mankind has had access to meat in the form of animals. We know from archaeological studies that we've been at the hunting end of the food chain for thousands of years. So chances are, we've adapted quite well to eating meat and fish.

We also know that plants have grown, whether or not we have helped in their cultivation. So it's a fair bet that eating fruit and vegetables is good for us.

Where does this lead us in our quest for a basic healthy eating guide?

Well, regardless of the latest diet fad, it should tell us that, so long as we eat them in moderation, pretty much any natural food is one that we can eat quite safely.

It should also tell us to be cautious about food that has either been processed too much or isn't in season.

It is only in the last few decades that we have been able to wander into a supermarket and buy fresh food whether or not it is in season. Strawberries all year round. Exotic fruits and vegetables that our ancestors didn't even know existed. We just haven't had time to adapt to this kind of luxury. And our attempts to eat healthily are sometimes being thwarted by the luxury that we take for granted in the western world.

This isn't to say that we should necessarily adopt a monk-like attitude. But it does mean that when we are formulating our own basic healthy eating guide, we should at least pay attention to nature. Ok, enjoy an occasional out of season item. But don't make it an everyday occurrence. This will actually help you to enjoy your food more as you'll start to look forward to eating things only occasionally.

So, go ahead, ignore the "experts" who all contradict each other anyway. Come up with your own basic healthy eating guide. Listen to your inner voice and stay closer to the natural seasons. Your health will thank you for it

Raw Food Diet Detox

A diet comprised of 100% uncooked food when used for the purpose of detoxification of the body is referred to as a raw food detox diet. Detoxification or detox refers to the process of elimination of toxins, produced either internally from metabolic wastes or coming from external sources such food and environment, that get accumulated in the body over a period of time, giving rise to a host of diseases.

A raw food detox diet primarily includes vegetarian or vegan foods, though sometimes meat and fish may be allowed too if one can manage to eat them raw. Such a diet promotes the elimination of harmful substances from the body through the body's excretory organs like kidneys, bowel and skin.

How a raw food diet detox works?

The principle behind a raw food detox diet is the belief that food in its natural uncooked form has all the vital nutrients and enzymes intact, whereas cooking by conventional methods devitalizes the food due to breakdown of these substances. In a sense, raw food is a kind of living food, with a latent life force that under appropriate conditions facilitates germination and growth of a new plant from a seed.

Advocates of the raw food diet detox believe that when the body is fed with foods that are rich in life force, digestive enzymes, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, while at the same time being deprived of devitalized and toxin-laden foods, it gets into the self-detoxification and cleansing mode.

What goes wrong during cooking?

When food is heated to temperatures above 117 º F (47 º C) for more than a few minutes: (i) a substantial amount of vital digestive enzymes and nutrients get destroyed; (ii) proteins get denatured and coagulated, causing deficiency of many amino acids ; (iii) fats when overheated result in the formation of carcinogenic substances.

When the food is cooked in water, the water-soluble minerals get lost due to leaching (even more intensely if one adds salt while cooking), unless one uses the leftover water for gravies or soups. In fact, scientific studies have shown that many of the vegetables lose their antioxidant benefits when boiled or microwaved.

It only gets worse when it comes to ready-to-eat commercially manufactured foods, which may even contain highly detrimental substances like acrylamides. It is for all these reasons that a raw food diet has emerged as the favorite detox diet.

What constitutes a raw food diet detox?

The following foods should be eaten while on a raw food detox diet:

* Whole fresh fruits and vegetables (preferred over juices), if possible unsprayed and organic
* Herbs and wild greens
* Sprouted grains, pulses and seeds
* Nuts soaked in pure water for 12 hours
* Sea plants like Nori, Dulse, Kelp, Algaes
* Foods dehydrated at room temperature so as to preserve life force, enzymes and nutrients
* Herbal teas, preferably organic


What to expect while on a raw food detox diet?

There could be many health reasons for which people go on a raw food detox diet: eg, weight loss, general health improvement, and chronic health problems arising from accumulation of toxins in the body (such as joint pains, headaches, chronic fatigue, constipation , etc.).

During the first two weeks of the raw food diet detox when the process of detoxification starts, initially one is likely to experience some negative detox reactions, such as nausea, headache, tiredness, coated tongue, foul breath, skin eruptions, depression, etc. This is because of the released toxins; it is very important to drink lots of water, take plenty of rest, and resist cooked food otherwise detox will discontinue.

In the next phase, one starts experiencing the benefits of detoxification.

Benefits of a raw food detox diet

The following benefits are experienced after going on a raw food detox diet:

* Feel rejuvenated and energetic, with increased stamina
* Improved digestion, with stable blood sugar levels
* Reduction in joint and muscle problems
* Improvement in concentration


Conclusion

Sticking to a raw food diet detox plan is not difficult with the increased interest in the raw food movement. A whole range of raw detox foods are available in health stores and farmers' markets. And there is a wealth of information available on the Internet, books / magazines to motivate and help you.