The Raw Vegan Network e-newsletter
June 2006
Editor: Vickie Fisher, owner Raw Vegan Network
Welcome to the Raw Vegan Network e-newsletter. This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended for diagnosing, prescribing or healing.
***********************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE
-Network Happenings
-Questions and Comments
-In The News
-Health Tip: Obesity
-Recommended Reading and websites
-Featured Network Member: Rose McMullen, Ontario
-Favorite Recipes: Green Smoothie, Chocolate Mint Fudge, Rose McMullen, Ontario
-Products: Juicers, distillers, dehydrators, raw recipe e-book, supplements
Please email us with your feedback about the articles and recipes, and what you would like to see in up coming issues.
************************************************************************
NETWORK HAPPENINGS
-We provide online raw food certifications for those who wish to expand their portfolio of expertise enabling them to serve others in there locale that wish to experience the health benefits of living a raw food lifestyle. For information: www.therawvegannetwork.com
-We also provide free contact services for people desiring help in there local area for raw food services. For information: www.therawvegannetwork.com
**Check out the “member’s events” page at www.therawvegannetwork.com/events.htm. It has the latest on what members are doing, such as raw food classes, retreats, raw food delivery, etc
************************************************************************
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
Dear Vickie,
Thank you so much for your great work!
Warm regards,
Marjukka
Hi
I enjoyed the May issue of the Raw Vegan. It was my first issue and I am
inspired to try the shakes and learn more about raw diets.
Thank you!
Valerie Sailes
************************************************************************
IN THE NEWS
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The obesity problem in individual U.S. states appears much greater than official health surveys have indicated, according to a new study.
Yahoo News May 9, 2006
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine May 2006
Wal-Mart's Next Conquest:
Organics
************************************************************************
HEALTH TIP
Obesity
Vickie Fisher-owner Raw Vegan Network
Today in America, obesity is an epidemic. Just go to any public place and look around. You will see numerous people desperately fighting a losing battle with obesity. Hundreds of scientific studies have shown the dangers of obesity, yet we continue to gain. One-third of the population is labeled as clinically obese. This growing trend not only has contributed to a multi-billion-dollar-a-year weight loss industry, but also to increasing health problems. Conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and others affiliated with obesity are on the rise, despite advances in modern medicine. For the latest statistics on obesity go to http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm.
In healthy women, body fat may be as high as 25%, while 17% is a healthy average for men. Women naturally have a higher percentage of fat to ensure enough fuel for pregnancy and nursing.
Before obesity or any other condition can be dealt with, the contributing factors must be eliminated. Until then, nothing will offer a permanent answer.
There are several contributing elements to obesity. They can be simple carbohydrate and insulin connection, carbohydrate addiction, artificial sweeteners, food allergies, food chemicals, parasites, or a toxic and impacted colon. Let’s take a look at each of these elements.
Simple carbohydrate and insulin connection: Insulin is essential to life in appropriate amounts but harmful in excess amounts. People produce too much insulin when they eat a diet of refined foods and simple carbohydrates. Insulin controls where blood sugar is stored. Its main work is to convert glucose to glycogen (the stored form of sugar), which is usually stored in the liver. Since only 2,000 calories can be stored as glycogen in the body at one time, the excess is stored as fat. As long as the body continues to get a constant supply of simple carbohydrates for energy, it has no need to tap into the stored fat-reserve, leading to difficult weight loss. When people lose weight on high-carbohydrate, low-fat, or restricted-calorie diets, the pounds often come from water and muscle rather than stored fat.
Carbohydrate addiction: After a full breakfast, are you hungry before it’s lunch time? Do you sometimes feel unsatisfied even though you just finished a meal? Do you sometimes eat even though you are not really hungry? After a large meal, do you feel sluggish or drugged? Do you get tired and/or hungry in the afternoon? Have you continued eating even though you felt uncomfortably full? Have you been on diet after diet, only to lose weight then regain it again? Most carbohydrate addicts do not know that they have a physical disorder-an excess of insulin-and wrongly blame themselves for their lack of control and weight struggle. Treat carbohydrate addiction like other addictions, with gradual withdrawal, starting with trigger foods, such as potato chips and breads. Substitute healthier forms of energy that do not set off binge eating, such as fruits and vegetables.
Artificial sweeteners: When you ingest the toxic chemical aspartame it is absorbed from the intestines and passes directly to the liver where it is taken inside the liver via the liver filter. This demands a lot of energy from the liver which means there will be less energy staying in the liver cells, so the liver cells will have less energy for fat burning and metabolism which results in fat storing.
Food allergies: Allergies not only cause digestive and health problems, but can add to weight problems. Some chemicals involved in food allergies may inhibit metabolism, and prostaglandin E2 (which is also released), and inhibit the body’s ability to burn fat stores, which lessen the body’s ability to burn fat. Carbohydrate addition is also caused by food allergies.
Food chemicals and processed foods: Chemicals found in processed foods and commercially grown fruits and vegetables and meats could tamper with weight loss and add to obesity. Sodium nitrate and BHT are stored in fat cells. Eating organic fruits and vegetable could help a person lose weight.
Parasites: Parasites slow down weight loss or contribute to weight gain. According to the World Health Organization, 90% of the population is infested with parasites. For anyone trying to lose weight, it is important to do a complete internal cleanse first.
Toxic and impacted colon: The average healthy colon weighs about 5 pounds, but most people are actually lugging around 10-25 pounds of dry, incrusted fecal matter in their colons. When elimination is less than we take in, the excess ends up accumulating on the walls of the colon producing a hard shell, which gets thicker and thicker throughout the years. The Royal Academy of Physicians of Great Britain claims that 90% of all disease and discomfort is directly or indirectly affiliated with an unclean colon due to impacted fecal matter. According to USA Today, John Wayne had 40 pounds of impacted fecal matter in his colon when he died. A complete detoxification program should be done for anyone wanting to lose weight. Following a complete internal cleanse, the immune system, digestive system and metabolism all function more effectively, making weight loss much more likely and lasting.
Water and exercise are the two most important catalysts in losing weight and keeping it off. Water curbs the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while increasing water can decrease fat deposits. Water helps rid the body of waste and helps alleviate constipation. Without enough water, the body can not metabolize stored fat efficiently. To eliminate excess water one must drink more water, which is critical to weight loss. A person should drink 8-12 glasses everyday. The overweight person should drink one extra glass for every 25 pounds of surplus weight. If a person exercises briskly or if the weather is hot and dry, water should be increased. If a person drinks eight 12 oz glasses of water a day, he will burn an additional 200 calories. No matter what type of diet you do, if you do not exercise, the weight will not stay off. Get regular exercise such as running, walking, swimming, and bicycling. Increase your flexibility with stretching exercises. Do strength training at least twice a week.
***********************************************************************
RECOMMENDED READING AND WEBSITES
Pure & Simple Natural Weight Control, Dr. Norman W. Walker
The Vegetarian Guide to Diet & Salad, Dr. Norman W. Walker
***********************************************************************
FEATURED NETWORK MEMBER
Rose McMullen
Port Carling, Ontario
I am Canadian and was raised in a very poor family. In my
memories of
>>growing up, if we didn't grow it, we didn't eat it. I think that is were
>>the basis of my life choices came from. Some of my fondest memories are
>>of sitting out in the garden on a hot summer day, wearing a bathing suit
>>and be covered head to toe in dirt. I was supposed to be weeding the
>>garden but I wasn't. I was sitting there tasting everything. If it was
>>green, it went in my mouth. I would imagine I ate my fair share if bugs
>>and dirt too. I was only 3-5 years old. On the flip side of that though,
>>any goods that we purchased were of a very poor quality, mostly made from
>>sugar and flour.
>>Unfortunately my mother was not the kind of woman that could express
>>emotion, so she did it with food. Angry, happy or sad she said everything
>>with food. If she wanted to tell you she loved you she gave you cookies.
>>If she wanted you to be quiet, she gave you cookies. I very quickly
>>learning that all of life's problem could be solved with food no matter
>>what. That set my pattern in at a very young age.
>>So it is understandable that I have had a battle with my weight all my
>>life. I am 41 now and for the last couple of years I have settled around
>>20-30 lbs overweight. However most of my life I have been 100 or more lbs
>>overweight. It is funny because I remember life events not by the time
>>they happened but by how much I weighed at the time. Weight and food have
>>always been the center of my life and usually my downfall as well.
>>It wasn't until the age of 36 and my divorce that I finally started to
>>understand what I had always known. Food is my saviour not my enemy. I
>>took the time to learn about nutrition and a bit about how the body works. I
>>they became the ideal weight for my height and was quite happy. But
>>within about 2 years weight started creeping back on and I could not stop
>>it. I was also an emotional mess. I would snap for no reason at all and
>>then turn around and laugh and turn around again and cry. I was about
>>ready to sign myself into a mental institution when someone told me "Oh
>>you are just in menopause." They said it so nonchalantly that I thought,
>>"Are you crazy, you are not living my life! How dare you say that so
>>casually!" But with a little investigation and a visit to the doctor to
>>confirm hormone levels, she was right.
>>The doctor wanted to put me on hormones and I did not agree. That is what
>>really pushed me into investigating raw foods.
>>Life is no coincidence and neither is this story. At that point
>>everywhere around me it seemed as though there was information on some
>>kind of crazy raw food diet that was "popular in Hollywood". So I decided
>>I would try it. I did some web surfing and bought some books. I went home
>>and cleaned out my cupboards and set myself up to go raw.
>>I went 100% raw just like that. It was tough for the first little while.
>>I really realized just how addicted I was to processed foods. My friends
>>had always referred to me as such a healthy eater, but I found out the
>>truth about 3 days in. I went through the typical detox and when I came
>>out the other side I could not believe the difference in life.
>>All the menopausal symptoms I had just seemed to magically disappear. I
>>was no longer feeling evil and moody. I could hear better and see better.
>>I had so much energy it was almost annoying because I couldn't sleep. I
>>had no craving and I was losing weight. Of course after a couple of weeks
>>things calmed down and fell into a nice pattern. I lost 12 lbs without
>>trying and was quite comfortable in my skin again.
>>I stayed raw for 1 year and then I decided to start dating again. I had
>>been single and not dating for 3 years and I was lonely. I was aware that
>>it would be dangerous around here to date when I was a raw foodist, that
>>was even worse than saying I was a vegetarian. I went out on a couple of
>>dates and tried to avoid the whole dinner thing. But I could not avoid it
>>forever and eventually I started eating some cooked again. I felt
>>horrible! It really impacted me just how we as an organic structure by
>>design need to feed our bodies with the same stuff we are made up of. That
>>really is the dust of the earth.
>>I was about ready to give up on the dating thing when I was talked into
>>putting my profile on Lavalife by another woman that has had success with
>>it. I did say in my profile that I was a vegetarian. Well within a few
>>days I received a response from an amazing man. I was very nervous because
>>I knew before I met him that there was something more to this one than all
>>the rest.
>>We contacted each other and that led to meeting one another. I never
>>before believed at love at first sight but I do now. I knew he would be
>>the man in my life the instant I laid eyes on him. Sure enough he felt
>>the same way. I so want this to work, most of my rules went
>>out the window. I ate very little meat, but I did eat cooked and tried to
>>keep lots of salads in my diet.
>>It has been several months now and I have had many physical illness
>>problems. I have realized beyond a doubt that raw food is the only way to
>>go. I am still with my man and happy to be so. He doesn't really
>>understand yet, the importance of raw food in my life, but he is accepting
>>of it.
>>And so here I am once again starting this journey into raw, but this time
>>there is not a single doubt in my mind as to the powerful healing effect
>>it has on any life it touches.
>>I look so very forward to feeling the way I did before.
>>
>>I want to share my journey with the world. I am just an average person
>>living an average life. I still cook for my family but I myself am raw.
>>I want to show everyone, if I can do it, they can do it.
>>
>>Simply put, life is better raw. So I am starting up this business to give
>>hope and inspire all of those that don't think help can be found. Health
>>is as simple as choosing to eat a pear or an orange. It is more cost
>>effective and also better for the planet.
>>
>>I learned long ago that you cannot tell anyone anything. People only
>>learn by seeing what you are doing in working. You must teach by doing
>>not by saying. That is my mission.
>>
>>I would love to hear from anyone who has any questions for me. They can
>>email me or call me at 1-705-375-1742.
>>
>>Together we can create a raw world.
***********************************************************************
FAVORITE RECIPES
Rose McMullen
Utterson, Ontario
One of my favourite things to do everyday is have a green smoothie.
I love
these drinks; they have made my life so easy. My favourite combination is
one good handful of each of the following, blueberries, mango, celery,
kale, banana and cucumber. Put all this in the blender and let it process
for a few minutes until smooth.
** I have even gotten some of my co-workers to
try this. They are pleasantly surprised by the taste, and always comment
that it tastes better than it looks.
I am still working on getting my boyfriend to drink it on any kind of a
regular basis, but I know curiosity will win out in the end.
The other thing I really love and use as a treat once and a while is
chocolate mint fudge. For this I like to use a combination of
pitted
Medjool dates and organic cooking dates. Take a handful of each and throw
them in the food processor along with a handful of Black Walnuts. Process
on high until it has a fudgie consistency. To this add, raw carob powder to
taste and a few peppermint leaves.
**Yummy, but very rich. Works great as an
after dinner mint treat especially if you have been eating garlicky raw
salsa with jalapenos.
**Are you enjoying the recipes from the Raw Vegan Network members? We also like to feature readers’ favorite recipes too. If you, the reader have a favorite recipe to share, please email your recipe to info@therawvegannetwork.com .
************************************************************************
PRODUCTS
**Need help getting started with incorporating healthy raw food choices into your diet and maintaining the raw vegan lifestyle? Put together an entire holiday feast or a light meal. Mostly Raw Recipes by Vickie Fisher (owner of The Raw Vegan Network) is available at www.therawvegannetwork.com/productindex.htm
**The Raw Vegan Network is offering juicers, distillers and dehydrators for sale. Products are available at www.therawvegannetwork.com/productindex.htm .
**In today's environment, even if you are eating all organic fresh raw fruits and vegetables you may not be receiving all the nutrients you need for optimum health. If you are not a raw vegan, then you definitely need to supplement your diet. That is why we decided to add a line of all natural health products that we believe are the best health supplements available on the market. These are available at www.myaimstore.com/pathway2health .
************************************************************************
FEEDBACK
-If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email us at info@therawvegannetwork.com and we will include them in our questions and comments section. Please email us with your feedback about the articles and recipes, and what you would like to see in up coming issues.
************************************************************************
You are receiving this e-newsletter either because you have subscribed freely or a friend forwarded to you. If you received this e-newsletter from a friend and wish to subscribe, please email info@therawvegannetwork.com . If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe please email info@therawvegannetwork.com .
At no time does The Raw Vegan Network spam anyone nor will your email be shared with any other listing. If you feel you have received this e-newsletter in error, please let us know at info@therawvegannetwork.com.