Friday, March 23, 2012

a new v-card.

After spending much of my life secretly and many times openly mocking or discouraging those who claimed themselves Vegetarian or Vegan, i have reconsidered. i blame my brother who recently found his v-card and my nephew who currently writes his own blog about being vegan. Check out The Seven Year Old Vegan.

i have watched Forks Over Knives and while it does make the plant-based diet sound like a no-brainer, i'm not convinced by one side of any argument. That's my problem with most things. i refuse to believe most of what i read, therefore, i hardly read anything. However, the more thought (and research) i put into what i'm actually eating, it's practically common sense to eat more like a vegan. Most people know of the recommendations of the food pyramid, but i doubt most people actively follow it. By focusing more on eating non-meats, i feel i'm getting much closer to the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. The limitations on what you can eat does wonders for actually thinking about what you are going to eat before you put it in your mouth. One important point to remember is that being vegan doesn't mean you are automatically eating healthy. Oreos are vegan. French fries are potentially vegan. Eating these alone will not improve your health. However, while there are a few areas that garner special focus to achieve recommended nutritional daily requirements, a vegan diet is full of health benefits. i never thought it could happen to me either, but for almost a month now, i've been vegan.
We didn't start this for the animals (although that From Farm to Fridge *Warning: disturbing video* makes you wonder), we did it for our own health in an attempt to lower Megan's cholesterol that has always run high despite exercise and a seemingly, relatively, healthy diet. We shall see.