| scrapking said: Interesting link. I think I've read it before (failing that, I read something similar). I agree that orthorexia can be a serious issue for some people. I don't calculate the gclycemic index of my meals (no need, the odds of me getting diabetes from a plant-based diet focused around whole foods is next to non-existant). I don't avoid gluten, lots of really healthy foods contain gluten, and I don't have celiac disease. I don't avoid soy, as it's one of the healthiest beans on the planet, despite fear-mongering to the contrary. I don't ruminate on the grains I'm eating creating malabsorption issues, because if you're eating the rainbow then you don't tend to suffer that effect (vitamin C improves the absorption of a raft of other nutrients, including iron). I don't take supplements, aside from vitamin D in the winter (and only because I live in a northern climate). I do avoid dairy. As a species we only started eating dairy about 10K years ago, which is a blink of an eye evolutionarily. The populations that consume the most dairy tend to have the most osteoporosis despite the dairy industry's calcium claims. Plus there are plenty of ethical issues with dairy where I would be less happy with life if I were participating in them, so not consuming dairy contributes to a happier life for me, which is ultimately what the article you linked to is all about. Meat and dairy aren't stopping Earth's population explosion as the health problems from them tend to come well after reproductive years, so I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. |
Cheese makes you happy though and is also good for you
http://time.com/4619162/cheese-health-food-cholesterol/
Well, what would happen if everyone started to live to a 100, society can hardly handle the ageing population as it is!
Anyway do whatever makes you feel good, a positive mind is most important for good health. Eating your problems away is the biggest threat to health atm. Play games instead of watching tv. That keeps your hand occupied not to grab that bag of chips or other snacks or soda. Binge watching, binge snacking go hand in hand, Netflix is causing obesity!
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/31/461594989/netflix-and-chew-how-binge-watching-affects-our-eating-habits
I guess you can snack a lot more on veggies, unless you dip them into dressing etc.
Anyway comparing a vegan lifestyle to the average omnivore couch potatoe, yes the people that choose that vegan lifestyle are likely a lot more healt conscious to start with. Plus all those remote vegan societies don't have the overabundance culture we have here. You can be perfectly healthy and live a long life as an omnivore, as long as with everything else, eat in moderation. Which is something I'll improve on that my parents did. You don't need to finish your plate, stop when you've had enough. It's hard though as it was ingrained over 18 years, finish your dinner, clear your plate, kids in Africa go hungry so you better eat up. (how did that ever make sense)
