Category: Health

This letter to the editor was posted on Syracuse.com

vegetarian diet would help curb disease

To the Editor:

We face a global outbreak of swine flu, and our own food choices are at the root of
the problem.

More than 100 people in Mexico have died from the H1N1 swine flu virus, and health officials have confirmed cases in the United State and several other countries.

As a physician, I think it’s critical to address the underlying cause of this global threat. Like human flu, swine flu spreads through close contact. On massive pig farms, overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions create the perfect reservoir for viruses and other diseases to incubate and replicate. Once a pathogen emerges, it is spread by farm workers and the transport of livestock. As the swine flu virus mutates and begins spreading easily among humans, we face the possibility of a deadly pandemic.

There would be no swine flu epidemic without pig farms. Americans now consume more than 200 pounds of meat a year, including a significant amount of pork. A collective shift to a vegetarian diet could help eliminate the farms that breed infectious disease. Meatless meals would also dramatically decrease obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Neal Barnard, M.D., president
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Washington, D.C.

I love cheap Chinese food. I know it isn’t healthy. I know that it is very caloric. Yet, I was truly amazed by this video put up by the Center For Science In The Public Interest.

I’m amazed because this time they have pictured foods that are similar to what I as a vegan may ask for when I go to these places. The Chinese restaurants I go to have a posted policy of using only vegetable oil. However, the shock that hits closer to home still hits deeper nonetheless.

To put these listings into perspective the “average” person’s calorie needs are about 2000 calories a day. Some people a little more, some people a little less, unless they are in boot camp or they are a serious athlete.

400 – 600 calories is about the size of a reasonable meal for most of us. An extra 250 calories a day is enough to put on 26 pounds of fat over a year.

Stir Fried Greens
Calories: 900 Sat Fat: 11 grams Sodium: 2,200 mg

Tofu & Mixed Vegetables (Homestyle Tofu)
Calories: 900 Sat Fat: 9 grams Sodium: 2,200 mg

The best advice I ever heard about eating out is to ask for half of your food be brought to you wrapped up to go. When I eat Chinese food on the weekend I will either skip lunch or skip dinner ( and I am not hungry ). The portions really are the sizes of two meals.

To see more grisly examples and get tips on mitigating the impact of your Chinese restaurant meal you can check out the full article at https://cspinet.org/new/200703211.html.

The culprit is deep frying for the high calorie count and the various sauces for the high sodium count. Don’t laugh off the sodium count. Articles come out every year linking excessive sodium intake to shortened lives and even osteoporosis.

Okay, so everyone who hasn’t been in a cave has heard how wonderful pomegranates are. Yes, they are expensive, but if you don’t have to have all of your fruit be organic, you can get them much cheaper at various ethnic markets in big metropolitan areas.

Pomegranates are different. They are a collection of little tiny sweet red kernels inside of a red ball held together with a rind that tastes like cabbage. You just don’t bite into these things.

I found this really good youtube video that shows you how to easily separate the kernels from the nasty tasting rind. The only thing I did differently was to cut the pomegranate in half, horizontally from the “stem”. Once done, I just ate the kernels with a spoon from a bowl. Delicious!