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Book Review: Being Vegan: Living with Conscience, Conviction, and Compassion - by Joanne Stepaniak, M.S.Ed.

My Wellness Counts Rating system: 

GREEN HEARTS on a scale of 1 - 5

*   GREEN because we all need more green veggies in our life

*   HEARTS because great health begins with love

Rating Joanne Stepaniak’s Begin Vegan:       5 / 5

Living with Conscience, Conviction and Compassion

My journey through the experience of reading this gem of a book actually began when I found the book initially.  In beautiful little bookstore on Granville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia, I found this used yet perfectly presented copy sitting like a little gem on the shelf of an old-fashioned, family owned store, Blackberry Books Ltd. 

                              

The store is enjoying its new location on Granville Island, yet it has been owned by the same family since 1979 – a special place carrying a special book; this was apparent right from the start.  While the book sells on Amazon for $15.99, my price was a mere $7.95 – a real bargain considering the wealth of information presented on each page enclosed in its pristinely maintained cover.

Now, on to the book itself: if my rating scale were to exceed 5 Green Hearts, this book would certainly tip the scales.  

The book is divided into 4 Chapters:
Chapter 1: Vegan Philosophy: Putting Down Roots
Chapter 2: Relationships: Sowing Seeds of Compassion

Chapter 3: Ethical Practice: Coming to Our Senses
Chapter 4:Vegan Practice and Food: Feeding the Heart

Becoming Vegan is clearly a guide for compassionate living extolling the virtues of embracing a reverence for life. Each Chapter uniquely sensitive and objective, yet strong and confident in defining Veganism both in theory, practice and philosophy, answering many questions posed by both Vegans and non-Vegans alike.

Some of the highlights I enjoyed, and I will quote directly from Ms. Stepaniak, are as follows:

*  People who just have a plant-based diet are not vegans; they are total vegetarians. Until one’s commitment extends beyond the scope of food, the word vegan does not apply . . . being vegan does not entail simply what a person does or doesn’t eat – it comprises who a person is.

* Reasons why meat should not be included in our diet are as follows:

~ we do not have a hinged jaw for ripping apart flesh, but one that is able to grind sideways
~ we have a longer digestive system so we are better able to get nutrients from our foods, as opposed to the shorter tract that carvnivores have to enable them to pass meat through their body before it becomes rancid
~ the low levels of acidity in our stomachs are in stark contrast to the high levels in meat eaters
~ although we have incisors capable of tearing flesh, I have always thought that these were for  cropping the harder vegetables
~ we do not have claws or talons for tearing flesh
~ the enzymes in our saliva that start breaking down food have a low acidity level related to a plant-based diet

*  Animal commodities merely serve the purpose of satiating human appetites at the expense of animal welfare and freedom . . . promoting the continued enslavement of animals for human desire.

*  Fish are not plants.

*  It takes guts to be unconventional.  Vegans challenge ingrained cultural assumptions that most of us have accepted since childhood, so it can be disquieting and at times difficult to be vegan.  At every turn we are inculcated with slick, seductive marketing campaigns disseminated by governmental agencies, food-animal producers, and fast-food chains that have deep-seated financial interests in promoting particular commodities and perpetuating the benevolent myths we have about them.  Questioning our cultural traditions and habits takes guts.  Not only do vegans have to deal with making numerous personal adjustments, they must also confront the cynicism and scorn of suspicious friends and family members and a doubting public that doesn’t want to be ruffled.  It would be much easier to acquiesce to the status quo.

* No one should feel compelled to conceal her or his identity just because someone else is ill equipped to cope with it.  Veganism is the sum of a person’s character.  It is not a hat to be put on or taken off when it makes other people uncomfortable.

* It is illogical to think that since we can’t spend all our time helping other people, we should continue to abuse and slaughter animals.

*  Most vegans are deeply upset by the sight of a dead animal at the hub of a supposed festive occasion.  In a culture where cadavers are prayed over and buried, not displayed and consumed, a vegan is more likely to grieve than rejoice.  Watching others gnaw on body parts causes anguish and revulsion.   On the other hand, a vegan fest offends no one.

* Knowledge can affect people only if their minds and hearts are open to it.

*  The production of eggs and milk entails as much cruelty, if not more so, as the production of flesh foods, because the animals’ suffering is extended over a significantly longer period prior to their untimely and brutal slaughter.

*  The atrocities perpetrated by humans against animals exceed all horrors that humans commit against themselves, both in kind and quantity.  Animals have no recourse against us, no means of escape, and not way to fight back.  They are vulnerable and completely at the mercy of our species.

*  Vegans acknowledge that the life force within people is the same life energy abiding in all living beings.

Power Foods For The Brain

My Wellness Counts rating system: 

GREEN HEARTS on a scale of 1-5

*GREEN because we all need more green veggies in 
our life

*HEARTS because great health begins with love

Rating Dr. Neal Barnard's Power Foods

For The Brain: 5 / 5

In his new book, Power Foods for the Brain, Dr. Neal Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine outlines what he says are the best foods to protect the brain against Alzheimer’s Disease, stroke and memory loss.

“The research has really established beyond any question that people who avoid animal products are thinner, healthier and at much less risk for heart disease, diabetes and certain kinds of cancers,” he said.

Among the most promising foods to protect the brain against disease are: Nuts and seeds (especially almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pecans, pistachios, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and flaxseed); blueberries and grapes; sweet potatoes; green leafy vegetables; beans, and chickpeas. He also recommends a Vitamin B12 supplement whether you are vegan or not.

Some may be attracted to a vegan diet because of moral considerations about the treatment of animals, and others might be attracted to the promise of a slimmer figure. But members of Washington-based PCRM are focused on the diet’s health benefits — outcomes that in recent years have been repeatedly confirmed in separate studies, Barnard said.

Additionally, he warns about the toxins that seep into food, including metals that have been connected to the plaques within the brain that have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease. He also challenges some strongly held health beliefs — that children should drink their milk, for example. Calcium benefits can come from other foods like broccoli without the fats that, over many years, can lead to heart disease, he said.

“If you look into the arteries of children, they would have the beginnings of heart disease before they get their high school diplomas,” he said.

Barnard’s latest book features 75 recipes of “power-rich” ingredients and is the result of a growing body of evidence in the link between good food and a healthy brain, he said.

“We have reached the point now where the evidence that nutrition can help us avoid major brain disasters is so strong that people need to know about it.”

~  Adapted from Robin Erb, Detroit Free Press

Eating For Beauty

My Wellness Counts Rating system: GREEN HEARTS 

on a scale of 1 - 5

*   GREEN because we all need more green veggies in our life

*   HEARTS because great health begins with love

Rating David Wolfe’s Eating For Beauty:   4 / 5

      

1). This is a book about “tools not rules”, leading one to achieve physical beauty through inner cleanliness.  Physical beauty in this book does not mean perfection, but rather describes a process by which one can begin to experience clean skin, shiny hair, strong nails, bright eyes, and an outer glow through proper digestion, assimilation and elimination.

2). David introduces new readers to Electromagnetism and Kirlian Photography – illustrating the fact that foods, specifically raw foods, have an aura of vibrant energy invisible to the naked eye.

3). Simple Shifts Work.  Adding in nutrient-rich raw foods on a consistent basis can controls one’s destiny.  A strong advocate of raw, plant-based nutrition, David quotes Michael Klaper as saying: 

“There is absolutely no nutrient, no protein, no vitamin, no mineral, that we know of that can’t be obtained from plant-based foods.”  

Further to quoting Dr. Klaper, one cannot help but be moved by the life David leads, true to this philosophy and filled with what seems to be a super-human type of energy, David Wolfe is indeed a guru of raw food nutrition at its finest.

4). David Wolfe examines and discusses several key nutritional elements such as enzymes, oils, animal fats, proteins, detoxification, the acid-alkaline balance, mineral density, water, yoga, supplements, poetry, recipes, exercise, lifestyle, self-care, and superfoods!

5). David challenges the reader to live life, not just by existing but rather by exploring the depth of their own, internal human potential.  Finding inner beauty comes from consistently combining all the right elements that nature has to offer and designing a life of gratitude and cleanliness, splendor and abundance.

He quotes Eckhart Tolle by noting: 

“Beauty arises in the stillness of your presence . . . Beyond the beauty of external forms, there is more here: something that cannot be named, something ineffable, some deep, inner, holy essence.  Whenever and wherever there is beauty, this inner essence shines through somehow.”

Spring Into Health

We make decisions daily by choosing food that is either healthy for us or harmful to us. Food influences everything. 

The better you feed yourself, the better you feel.

Unfortunately, so much of what is available to us today in terms of nutrition, is not really even considered “food”. 

It’s not healthy, it is not nourishing, and a lot of it is not real.

Think about it – with the vast accessibility we have to grocery stores in America we also happen to be the sickest and the fattest nation in the world.

The food industry doesn’t make our job as consumers easy.  Have you ever noticed that unhealthy foods are cheaper and more accessible than healthy foods?  

Why is it easier to buy sugary, processed snacks rather than local, organic produce?  Why is it if you walk into a McDonalds with $5 you can either buy 5 hamburgers or 1 salad?

Health seems to be dictated by value not quality!

A marketplace saturated with low-quality food, conflicting dietary advice, and a population of sick, overweight people is the result of such confusion. And many people turn to prescription drugs to fix their poor health.  

For some reason, we are conditioned to think that taking a pill out of a bottle will make us feel better.

But wait: there is another answer!

Plant foods have special molecules called phytonutrients which can actually turn on and off our DNA to help prevent disease as well as heal acute (short-term) sickness.  

We don't generally think that fresh vegetables and fruit count toward healing.  

But it's true, food is the most powerful drug we have. 

Therefore, eating a diet rich in plant foods over time can prevent disease and enhance health.

So, really consider what quality and choice of food you are feeding your body.  Please pay attention to what you eat and how it feels in your body; get to know your healing foods.  

You will find that food offers much more than calories.  

It offers your ticket to a nutritious, long, and healthy life.

Highlights of Crazy Sexy Diet

My Wellness Counts Rating system: GREEN HEARTS on a scale of 1 - 5
*   GREEN because we all need more green veggies in our life
*   HEARTS because great health begins with love

Rating Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet:       5 / 5

1). I LOVE that Kris signed my book, meeting her was such a joy.
It occurred to me that in our society, celebrities like Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, Chris Brown and Mike Tyson are all household names . . . "stars". . . "heroes" . . . universally known and famous.
But what about the true heroes, like Kris Carr?
Why doesn't everyone know her name???

2). I LOVE that Kris assertively requires that you really think, suggesting such ideas as:
"Your genes are a predisposition but your genes are not your fate. We found that changing your lifestyle changes your genes."
"While our ancestors have been eating meat since they came down from the trees, they consumed it frequently and in smaller portions. Also, the meat was very different. It was wild and fresh, not from disease-ridden factory farms that dose already sick animals with drugs and chemicals."
"America's obsession with being skinny overrides its concerns for being healthy."

3). I LOVE that Kris offers valuable information on everything from pH balance, inflammation, animal flesh, sugar and coffee addictions, to colonics, enemas and elimination, supplements, self-care, juicing, smoothies and more!
She offers an awesome 1-day juice fast and a 21-day cleanse complete with recipes, journaling, positive affirmations and (again) more!

This book is a complete guide to better health without judgement or imposition.
It is Kris' personal journey with cancer and her own activism towards self-healing.
YES, I highly recommend it to be read and re-read.
One tip: read with a pen or two in hand - you'll want to highlight and make notes on those ideas that really resonate with you!

"Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It!"

How To Open A Coconut!

Thank you to Raw For Beauty!