On eating meet and natural tendency towards vegan

On eating meet and natural tendency towards vegan - The Cycling Network

I originally sent this to my family and close friends. After some colorful feedback, I am sharing it because the information is valuable for everyone, especially athletes.

This is not a chain post.... it is written by me and I am responsible for its content.

All the same, I have not been a fan of reading information such as what I'm about to share and am shaking my head as I write this one. Please excuse me.

I justify taking your time because you are important to me and this issue is significant enough that I am taking time to share it with you.

During the past few months I have been educating myself on the status of our food industry and have some information I wish to share with you.

I am not asking for money, your support of a charity, nothing like that at all. It is not my intent to feed the fear engine that is abundantly preset in our daily lives. I'm not wanting us to hold hands, light candles, wear Patchouli and sing Kumbaya.

My intend is simply to share with you that my discoveries have significantly altered my nutritional intake to where I am not wanting to eat meat any longer.

Over the past few months I have weened myself off meat, poultry, dairy and eggs for no other reason other than I can not justify eating these animals and products knowing what has been done to them from the moment of their birth to when they die.

In my coaching and continued progression as an athlete seeking knowledge in health, fitness and wellness, I have always advocated the incorporation of lean meats (such as buffalo/bison, turkey, chicken, eggs and fish) in my personal and athletes' diets to provide the essential protein building blocks necessary for recovery from physical training.

Now, after a lot of research, I am finding that the same benefits of consuming lean proteins can be achieved without actually eating meat. And, that the consumption of commercially available meats and products is actually counter-healing to us and should be avoided, unless the source of growth and production of these meats and products can be personally verified to be drug and cruelty free.

For me, at the age of 43, I am arguably in the best shape of my life. I continue to train hard and can keep up with professional athletes who are almost 1/2 my age! My nutritional needs continue to be demanding and I am continuously looking for advantages to help me recover, heal and gain a health/fitness advantage.

So, please hear me when I tell you that food should be thought of as "medicine" in that it's primary purpose is to heal you and not just fill your stomach.

Consider filling your diet with raw/organic nuts and nut butters, loads of organic fruits and vegetables of all kinds, quinoa and rice, oatmeal, protein powder, and not-farm-raised seafood if you find a craving for protein.

Avoid meats and farm products unless you personally know their source and can vouch for the cruel-free methods of raising, killing and processing them.

You don't need to be a Nazi about this.... make a small change here and there: It's taken me about 6 months to reverse my craving for meat.

When ordering/buying food, think of your pet and know that animals are sentient beings with awareness: they are aware of their environment and process those factors internally. If we eat meat that is commercially raised, we consume all the hormones that the animal released in their system during their miserable lives before being killed.

This is going to sound woo-woo and I can't believe I'm about to say this, but the spirit of the animal that gives up its life for our consumption should be thanked Consider the rituals Native Americans performed when killing buffalo to sustain the survival of their people. They gave thanks to the spirit of that animal and killed without excess.

We are what we eat. We can all afford to be more cognizant of what we eat because our consumption fuels an industry that is not right on many levels, including its impact on your health and the health of your loved ones.

Do not eat fast foods...don't even patronize them because every dollar spent with them is another vote for them to continue butchering our food source, not to mention the negative health consequences on you and your family.

I care about you and want absolute health and wellness for you, which is why I took time to write.

Open up your fridge and take a close look inside. You don't need to throw anything out. Just make a note to make small changes next time you shop for food.

In mine, I have:
• almond butter
• organic peanut butter
• 9 different varieties of hot sauce
• organic mustard
• lots of nuts: Brazil, almond, sesame, cashews, walnut, pecan
• dried fruits: cherries, raisins
• Veggies: carrots, zucchini, avocado, two bags of organic spinach, potato, onions, organic celery
• tempeh
• frozen wild salmon, ahi and scallops: avoid farm-raised seafood please
• organic frozen peas and edamame
• garlic
• brown rice tortillas
• almond cheese
• Brags liquid amino acid
• Tamari sauce

In my pantry I have:
• organic canned beans
• wild salmon bought at Costco
• 3 different kinds of rice cakes
• coconut milk
• red quinoa
• white quinoa
• mung beans
• brown rice
• wild rice
• almond milk
• canned organic pumpkin
• dates
• 3 different protein powders: organic chocolate rice, chocolate soy and Rainbow Light Vegan vanilla protein energizer (my new favorite, which also comes in chocolate)

Fruits:
• lemons
• apples
• pears
• banana

Supplements:
• Metagenic lemon flavored fish oils
• Metagenic methalated folic acid
• CoQ10 bought from Costco
• men's one a day, but not centrum, formula multi vitamin & mineral: a good way to gauge the absorbency of a multi vitamin is to put one in a small glass of water overnight. if it's not completely dissolved by the morning, don't take it as your body will not absorb it. It's also important to get both vitamin AND minerals.
• Triphala: an auyervedic mixture of herbs to help balance my dosha
• Milk Thistle: for liver
• Vitamin C: 1000mg
• Olive leaf extract: for when I feel my immune system needing a boost
• Branch Chain Amino Acids for training purposes and recovery

You can sustain a healthy intake with the above example of foods and supplements

If you use a reverse osmosis water filtration system, please supplement your water with a few drops of liquid trace minerals.

You can sustain a healthy dietary intake with a variation of the above.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or if I can help you clean up your diet and promote better health and healing.

My best wishes for a great 2010 and healthy, prosperous new decade.

Kam