Some friends of ours are adapting a vegan diet! Like RIGHT NOW! I couldn't be more thrilled for them!
The wife is an ER nurse, the husband is an ER doctor. Really, they should know better, but like most medical personnel, they know nothing of nutrition. It's not a requirement in medical school, so they simply don't study it.
In fact, when I was having issues with anemia several years ago (turns out it's related to proton pump inhibitor use and don't let a doctor tell you otherwise, they are NOT safe for 'long term use'), and my hemoglobin was 7.1, and the physician said I had three months to raise it or I was going to get a shiny new transfusion, the husband in this scenario said, "It's time for heroic measures. You need to eat a rare steak every day until this is fixed."
Considering I'd developed anemia WHILE eating meat, I failed to see how eating it again would fix anything, thanked him for his concern, and proceeded to correct the problem after being told by another physician that I would "never cure anemia while eating a vegan diet," and that I needed to "listen to reason" before I wound up dead!
Anyway, so this ER doctor was living on Dr. Atkins diet for many years. Meat, eggs, bacon, cheese... his wife hated it. She said it was making her gain weight and she didn't think eating all that fat was good for anyone, so she tried switching out the meats. All vegans know this is just putting a bandage on a very serious problem. If you are going to really take charge of your cholesterol and levels of fat in your blood, you cannot just change from steak to fish, or from bacon to chicken. It's like telling an alcoholic to drink light beer instead of vodka, or a drug addict to switch from smack to pills.
In order to fix a cholesterol problem, you must take charge of your diet, and eliminate foods that add more to your system.
So, after years of eating heroically, our friend suffered a stroke and can no longer fly a plane or practice medicine, at least for the foreseeable future. He will be fine with more therapy, and he's been doing really, really well. He's lucky it was a mild stroke and not something much more severe.
He's also got diabetes, and has had it for a number of years. All vegans know the way to arrest the deterioration of the organs from the damage diabetes can wreak is to eliminate animal products from the diet. In many cases, diabetics following vegan diets have been able to get rid of their disease and do away with their medications.
Speaking of diabetes-----Paula Deen is a diabetic and has been for three years. She excuses the plugging of her recipes by saying, "I'm your cook, not your doctor." That IS one way of looking at it. Another way is to say, "I make money by making people unhealthy and I don't give a crap because I just signed an endorsement deal, y'all, and it will pay me more money than y'all will see in a lifetime." I hate Anthony Bourdain and his ridiculous comments about vegans and vegetarians, however, I'm in his corner for blasting Paula for her latest stunt. She deserves it.
Getting back to the point---after watching Forks Over Knives, and after tasting the food I make, including desserts made with agave nectar so the diabetic could enjoy them, and getting cookbook recommendations from me, and starting with one vegan meal per week, this family is going to go vegan! They are getting rid of the eggs, the meat, the dairy---all of it.
I, for one, am overjoyed for this family. We used to have dinners together all the time, but stopped many years ago when our diets took different paths, so it will be nice to dine together again. The wife said switching to veganism has broken her out of her cooking rut, as well. She was tired of fixing the same meat, side, veg dishes night after night, and now she's got a new set of ideas and flavor profiles to pull from, and she's having a great time in the kitchen.
Good health, good food, fun in the kitchen... from where I sit, it looks like a win/win for that family. Hopefully, someone will get through to Paula Deen and let her know she doesn't have to live a life dependent on medication. She may be able to get rid of it if she changes her diet. Plus, as famous as she is, if she went vegan and began doing a vegan cooking show and making vegan cookbooks, that would be awesome. Vegan comfort food. She could make fried Earth Balance! hahahaha I don't think Paula's vegan foods would be any healthier than the junk she creates now, but it would be really fun to watch her journey. I'd tune in for that. I really would. Bringing veganism to the forefront of cooking would really rock the house and let people know they won't be missing out on anything by cutting out the meat. Of course, she runs the risk of losing her audience, so it won't happen. Still...
Anyway, I'm really happy for these friends of ours, and wish them the best of luck on their new dietary path.
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