Now, I promise to not give frequent vegan lectures. You're not here for a sermon - you're probably here either to hear about what I'm up to/how L is doing and to get some yummy vegan/gluten-free recipes...maybe a combination of the two. But I humbly ask you to read and consider the following, free from judgment, free from criticism - this is purely information sharing because I care about your health. If you knew something I didn't that could change my life for the better, wouldn't you risk upsetting my pattern?
I want all Americans to be liberated through finally being unblinded to the illusion of choice they think they have, and educated about the choices that actually do exist. And we're talking about what you put in your body, what you put in your children's bodies - is there really anything else more worth dispelling some erroneous notions for, even if it causes you deep thought and the difficulty of re-assessment and change? Would you rather your cuisine be curative, or kill you? That might sound harsh, but with the number of Americans suffering from obesity and heart disease, and dying too soon, and passing these bad habits and lifestyle decisions onto their children - what you feed yourself and your family is of utmost paramount importance. If you don't believe me, I implore you to check this out: http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1197994908531FS16OVR08.pdf
I want to share a couple things with you, friend. The first is this article: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/11/07/1818826/watch-your-weight-and-pass-the.html. In talking about veganism with people, I frequently get on my soapbox about dairy, and how these myths that a) it's a good source of calcium, b) it's a good source of protein, c) it's safe for kids to consume as much as they want, and d) it's part of a balanced, nutritious diet are just that...myths. I'm not saying that no one should eat any kind of dairy ever. I'm saying that of the lies sold to us by the densely corrupt food industry - the dairy secrets are some of the best kept, and the truth about dairy is sharply (no pun intended) needed. If ingesting bovine growth hormone, antibiotics, preservatives, and futile fat sounds like a good idea to you - by all means, go for it. I do truly believe that you are the greatest expert on you. I'm standing for the continuation of my species, my planet, myself, and my loved ones, though. Even in the decisions I make about what I eat.
If someone put a gun to my head, and told me to eat a 12 oz. steak or down a pint of milk, I would not hesitate to reach for the steak.
You, in your head right now: "But I love cheese, and I don't want to give it up." "But I've always drank milk, and my cholesterol is fine." "But there really is just nothing better than butter." Busted! I get that it tastes good to you right now. If we only ate what tasted good (salty, sweet, fatty - flavors we evolved a taste for because they are things our bodies need - in moderation - that were hard to come by historically. This evolutionary advantage that our fast food nation is taking advantage of in order to get your dollars), if we only ate what we have emotional attachments and social rituals around, if we never re-educated ourselves about what's on our plate and how it got there and just ate it (willfully ignorant) - we would perish. We are perishing. We are the only species to continue to consume milk past the weaning age, when our bodies no longer have any substantial physiological need for it. We are the only species to consume the milk of another species.
And the federal government is spending millions upon millions of dollars not to make sure you have ready access to organic, whole foods - no, of course not - they're spending that money to ensure you keep eating cheese. Does that sit right with you? Personally, I'm suspect of anything the government is spending that much money on to keep me doing. Hello? Anyone out there?
I challenge you to really read the above article and search your heart. With a plethora of vegetal-based companies offering tasty alternative (not substitute) cheese products at reasonable prices, more and more widely distributed - there really is no excuse. Have you even explored nutritional yeast, soy cheeses, cassava root cheeses/daiya "cheddar" and "mozarella", nut cheeses (cashew cream/cheese), hemp milks, soy milks, rice milks, nut milks, etc. etc. etc.? Contact me if you need help. That's what I'm here for.
Okay, I'm done preaching and shall now resume speaking only to L's healing process. I just know that L isn't having mad dairy cravings, I know she was sleeping better due to less phlegm/no snoring literally days after taking dairy out, and I remember what the "cheese drawer" in her fridge looked like before I got my hands on it. And it just gets me that she was eating something day in and day out that was not only passively hindering her healing process, it was actively sabotaging her immune response, actively increasing her inflammatory response, etc. If you are at all immune-challenged, overweight, infection-prone, chronically tired, digestively sensitive (IBS, nervous gut, etc.), or know for some reason that dairy isn't for you and just thought (either consciously or sub-consciously) that taking dairy out is a necessity, but a change that is too hard to navigate - I dedicate this post to you. Call me. I'll support you in any and all ways I can.
I love you all, appreciate the readership and support in ways you can't even know, and no matter what you put in your mouth, in your stomach, in your heart, in your spirit today - may it nourish you, edify you, and may you be well.
JRW
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