Blogs > Vegging Out

Helen Bennett Harvey promises that no animals were harmed in the making of this blog. Vegging Out is a recipe for a new way of life. Or at least a new way of eating. Pull up a chair. Contact me at: hbennettharvey@nhregister.com

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Name calling



“You’re fat.”
Ouch. That smarts.
And, OK, that’s not exactly what my doctor said. But she did come darn close to it and while I acknowledge I have gained a few pounds in the last year, the words “obese” and “fat” were not ones that I believe apply to me.
Wake up call.
My doctor says those extra pounds are a one-way ticket to: cancer, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure (mine right now is actually quite good), heart disease and stroke.
That’s scary talk.
And, believe me; those pounds - no I won't name numbers - are already on their way to coming off, even a few days later. That’s not easy at the New Haven Register, where baking seems to be the pastime of several staffers. (Yes, Ann Dallas and Barbara Douglas, that’s you, and I know you don’t force anyone to eat cake, brownies or, in the case of both of you, the truly best ginger cookies anyone has ever made)
Yet, had I gotten on a scale sooner, there would have been no doctor’s office talk about chubbiness, as I would have caught it sooner.
But there was something else amid all the talk about “fat” that she said that troubles me still. It was that vegetarians – in nations where populations tend toward vegetarianism and meals that mostly eschew meat - tend to have higher rates of the health problems I mentioned above.
Given the stern lecture I had received from her – I am not exaggerating – about watching my weight, I was cowed enough not to offer an argument at the time. (Yes, I tend to be a chicken when it comes to doctors, especially those I really like - not when my children are involved, but definitely when it comes to me)
Yet, the idea that rates of diet-related disease are higher among populations that tend to have a highly vegetable-based diet strikes me as simply wrong.
Consider this:
"Leading health experts agree that going vegetarian is the single-best thing we can do for ourselves and our families. Healthy vegetarian diets support a lifetime of good health and provide protection against numerous diseases, including our country’s three biggest killers: heart disease, cancer, and strokes. The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have “lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; … lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer” and that vegetarians are less likely than meat-eaters to be obese.1 Well-planned vegetarian diets provide us with all the nutrients that we need, minus all the saturated fat, cholesterol, and contaminants found in animal flesh, eggs, and dairy products."
That is from: here
That sounds really good to me and - while those health benefits are not why I became a vegetarian – they are a plus.
And while I don’t mean to overwhelm with big quotes from outside sources, here’s another one to consider:
“Based on what is known of the components of plant-based diets and their effects from cohort studies, there is reason to believe that vegetarian diets would have advantages in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. At present there are few data on vegetarian diets in diabetes that do not in addition have weight loss or exercise components. Nevertheless, the use of whole-grain or traditionally processed cereals and legumes has been associated with improved glycemic control in both diabetic and insulin-resistant individuals. Long-term cohort studies have indicated that whole-grain consumption reduces the risk of both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In addition, nuts (e.g., almonds), viscous fibers (e.g., fibers from oats and barley), soy proteins, and plant sterols, which may be part of the vegetarian diet, reduce serum lipids. In combination, these plant food components may have a very significant impact on cardiovascular disease, one of the major complications of diabetes. Furthermore, substituting soy or other vegetable proteins for animal protein may also decrease renal hyper filtration, proteinuria, and renal acid load and in the long term reduce the risk of developing renal disease in type 2 diabetes. The vegetarian diet, therefore, contains a portfolio of natural products and food forms of benefit for both the carbohydrate and lipid abnormalities in diabetes.”
That’s from: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online.

All of that said – and the last one was a mouthful - what’s up with the doctor’s notion that a quick ticket to obesity, and its related health issues, is vegetarianism?
To her credit, she did talk about getting into the rut of white bread, white pasta, white flour and potatoes, and how these foods are like mainlining sugar.
I know the rap of these foods and I try to avoid them. I have even gotten my husband to eat whole grain pasta.
The point of all this? I don’t buy the connection between vegetarianism and ill health. What I do know is that you gain weight when you take in more calories than you expend.
My plan is to stop doing this.
What I have no plans to do is to do it by adding meat back into my diet.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Slippery when wet, but heck, sounds like a busy vegetarian girl's dream






Demand for Tofu Shirataki noodles has been growing after Lisa Lillian praised the product on her Hungry Girl Web site and gave it her seal of approval.



Photo by New York Times.


Read the New York Times story here:





tofunoodles

Monday, September 8, 2008

Northeast Organic Farming Association Organic Land Care Program scores big, organizers say

Press release warning: Yes readers, the following is a press release. I know this is the lazy way to share news, but it is posted here simply as a source of information and I can't take credit for it, nor am I able to verify what is says, but it is interesting. So, as I have said many times before: You decide!

MANCHESTER - The Northeast Organic Farming Association Organic Land Care Program experienced record-breaking attendance at its 4th annual NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Courses last month, with 195 professionals receiving education in organic turfgrass management. This demonstrates the ever-increasing demand for organic land care services sought by homeowners and professionals throughout the industry.
The NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Course is open to all landscape professionals & municipal workers and provides state-of-the-art information for managing lawns and turf organically.
The NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Course was held in Dartmouth, MA, in Manchester, CT and in Hillsborough, NJ. The New Jersey course, offered for the first time this year, was at capacity, with 40 professionals in attendance. The Massachusetts course saw 63 professionals and the Connecticut course had 92 students attend. Course students included landscape designers, landscape architects, landscapers, educators/activists and 17 municipal employees from 3 states. They ranged in age from their early 20’s to their mid-70s and came from Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
This Winter, the NOFA Organic Land Care Program will offer its very popular, comprehensive five-day organic land care accreditation course in five states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and for the first time, New York and New Jersey as well.
The 8th annual NOFA Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care is a 30-hour course for professionals that provides the education needed for an understanding of organic land care design and maintenance. An optional exam will be given at the conclusion of the course. Those who pass the exam can become NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals.
Currently, these courses have accredited over 400 professionals in 18 different states. With the expansion of this course into two more states, these numbers are expected to increase. These professionals pledge to provide service according to the NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care. Published in 2001, the NOFA Standards are the first of their kind and are widely recognized as the source for appropriate organic landscaping techniques across the nation.
The NOFA Organic Land Care Program was founded in 1999 to extend the principles and expertise of organic agriculture to the care of lawns and landscapes where most people live, work, play, and otherwise spend their daily lives.
The demand for organic landscaping services is increasing rapidly, driven by consumer concerns and regulatory pressures, including recent Connecticut legislation banning the use of pesticides at public and private schools with young children and resolutions by towns prohibiting or discouraging the use of pesticides. In order to address this need, the Organic Land Care Program runs an organic land care accreditation program for professionals. Currently, it is the only accrediting agency dealing with Organic Land Care in the nation.
For more information on the program, or to find an accredited Organic Land Care provider near you, visit www.organiclandcare.net or call program manager Ashley Kremser in CT at (203) 888-5146.