Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Thirty Day Vegan...Day 20



So Xta asked a good question.

If we aren't animal activists then why avoid animal products? Why are we staying away from animal milk, yogurt, eggs, cheeses, butter?

After all. Organic means that the animals are treated well, fed well and aren't pumped full of hormones, genetically modified "food"stuff and are allowed to do things like move and feel sunshine. Organic is better. period.

But. Why are we avoiding those items? Mostly for the inflammation aspects. And because of possible underlying allergies to things we've always eaten but didn't know we didn't tolerate oh so well. 24 has a longer trial and error period. She has decided that she is definitely going to avoid dairy because when she has played her flexitarian card and eaten something containing dairy her head gets stuffy feeling. And when she eats several things that are non-Vegan she feels it energywise. Since Rob and I aren't at the flexitarian stage yet, I am interested to see if we notice differences in the way we feel if we eat dairy. As far as I'm concerned, this whole thing is a lifetime learning process. If there are alternatives to dairy products that leave us feeling satisfied then I feel like I'm going to lean towards those products.

These links go into all sorts of information. I even put a counter-point one in there. Casein is one that raised a few red flags in my mind. (The China Study) And there is a compelling enough reason to me to avoid it. But, there are other scientists who say "pshaw!"

But isn't that life? No matter what subject you chose to expound on, someone is going to be able to tear it apart....maybe only within their own mind....maybe to multitudes. Since I'm not a scientist, since I can't tear things apart on a molecular level and figure out the puzzle of life, since life is a journey...I guess I'm just going to keep on keeping on....doing my best to become more and more like the person I was created to be.

So. Share your thoughts. What do you think?



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/dairy-free-dairy-6-reason_b_558876.html
http://www.dldewey.com/columns/milk.htm
http://www.naturalnews.com/025258_butter_calcium_cancer.html
http://crossfitmaximus.com/2010/08/the-adverse-effects-of-milk-loren-cordain-ph-d-and-pedro-bastos/
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=122585
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/nutrition-advice-from-the-china-study/
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=385

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What do you use in place of butter? Have you tried the coconut butter the one article recomends? I wonder where you can buy that?
Great links. Thanks for sharing. Great explanation as well. I appreciate it.
Xta

Terri Thompson said...

Excellent thoughts, Kelly. Each person must discover what their body needs and how it responds to certain foods. I like to look to the Bible for the basics. What did God give for food? How did He make it? Beyond that, if there is something that affects our energy level or focused thinking negatively we should avoid it. The only way to find out about our own body is to remove a food for at least a month, then reintroduce it and see how we feel.
Thanks for taking us with you on your journey of discovery.

Kim said...

Kelly,
I applaud you guys for actively pursuing ways to be healthier and avoid expensive and unhealthy medications.

I suffer from IBS, and after the last round of tests ect..I researched and pursued diet and supplement changes that would help me feel better and keep me from taking daily medications. I have never felt better!

So you just keep on keeping on! You are doing a right and good thing! I thought about you while I drank a quart of mocha frappacino from Starbucks this morning! :)

Scrambled Dregs said...

Kim : ). Thanks for the smile. And support.

Terri, and Xta, thank you, too.

I'm answering Xta's questions tomorrow.