Vegan Junk Food: Blessing or Curse?

Many people assume that becoming vegan means giving up donuts, cheesecake, s’mores, gummy bears, ice cream bars, cheezies, chicken wings, cheeseburgers and every other favorite treat imaginable. Twenty years ago, they would have been right. Today, they’d be dead wrong. Vegan versions of almost every convenience food, snack food and fast food are now yours for the taking. It is wonderful and horrible all at the same time. On the one hand, it is a bit of a relief to know that you can provide your child with a “reasonable look-alike” when their friends are enjoying ice cream bars on a hot summer day or roasting marshmallows at their highly anticipated class camp out. On the other hand, if you get a little too cozy with these processed foods you could end up with a vegan diet that is as bad as the Standard American Diet (SAD) that we’re so determined to avoid.

In this hectic world of multitasking, convenience foods have an undeniable attraction. While popping a veggie pie in the microwave is no doubt faster than preparing dinner from scratch, you have to consider the cost of cutting corners with the raw materials used to replace your brain cells (and the rest of your body!). Processed, packaged foods are carefully designed to tantalize your taste buds and keep you coming back for more. This task is cleverly accomplished with salt, sugar and fat, all of which have a nasty way of coming back to bite you in the butt.

Not so long ago, most people had no clue what the word vegan meant. Those that recognized the word associated it with extreme, dangerous vegetarian diets. Today, the word vegan is viewed in a far more flattering light. This shift is the direct result of a couple of decades of scientific evidence confirming the safety, adequacy and potential benefits of a well-planned vegan diet. You can walk into any mainstream grocery store and find products with the word vegan prominently displayed across the label. Producers use the word vegan to sell goods because consumers associate this word with wholesome, nutritious, ethical and green. Many assume that foods baring the “v” word are nutritionally beyond reproach. Don’t be fooled. Just because you see the word vegan on a label does not automatically qualify the item as healthful. Nor does it qualify the food as low-calorie, low-fat, low-sugar or “low” anything. Some of the world’s most unhealthful foods are 100% vegan – soda pop and deep-fried salty snacks being two perfect examples.

What does this all mean when it comes to our food choices? Can you afford to eat any of the tempting treats sitting on natural-food store shelves? While you don’t have to completely eschew the tasty convenience foods that are appearing in ever-increasing numbers, you best be savvy about where on the health food spectrum these foods really lie. The following guidelines will help you sort the proverbial wheat from the chaff.

1. Eat mainly whole plant foods – vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Make these foods the centerpieces of all your meals. Go for at least 10 servings of vegetables and fruits, including at least three servings of leafy greens, each day.

2. If you eat vegan convenience foods, do so in moderation. Frozen entrees, veggie meats, frozen whole grain waffles, packaged mixes, and the like can offer variety and enjoyment, but they should not become dietary staples. These foods tend to be high in salt and sugar and are sometimes exposed to harsh chemicals in their processing.

3. If you eat vegan snack foods and fast foods, do so in moderation. Foods that fall into this category include vegan hot dogs, ice cream, candy bars and sweet baked goods containing white flour and/or sugar.

4. If you use soy foods, stick to organic, first generation soy products such as edamame, roasted soybeans, baked soybeans, tofu, tempeh and soymilk. Minimize highly processed soy foods, especially those based on isolated soy protein or soy oil.

5. Learn to read labels! While the nutrition facts give you a lot of valuable information about salt, sugar, fat and nutrient content, the ingredient list is every bit as important. Ingredients are listed by weight, so whatever appears first is present in the greatest quantity. Take note of the sources of fat, sugar and protein in the product.

6. Make sure you take care of the nutrients of concern – particularly vitamin B12, but also vitamin D, calcium, iron, zinc, iodine and essential fatty acids. Ignoring these nutrients can erode most of the advantages enjoyed on a whole-foods vegan diet.

Brenda Davis, RD, is co-author of seven books, including “Becoming Vegan,” “The Raw Food Revolution Diet,” and “Defeating Diabetes.” Brenda is the lead dietitian in a diabetes intervention project in Majuro, Marshall Islands and is a past chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association.

Photo credit: penguincakes

Oh, Poor Me – No Junk Food in My Childhood?

While growing up, food is what set me apart from my peers. Naturally, being the daughter of Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of the best-selling books “Eat to Live” and “Eat for Health,” is going to result in some pretty unconventional school lunches and after-school snacks. As a young child, it didn’t take me long to figure out that my friends were being packed ham sandwiches and chips, and I was not. My parents only packed me healthy stuff – never processed foods, white bread sandwiches, or those highly processed convenience foods children thought (due to commercials) were as cool as winning a game of dodgeball. I did not try a McDonald’s french fry until I was in the fourth grade. I felt like a rebel buying chocolate chip cookies in middle school, a thought process never occurring to my friends.

During my childhood I chose to ignore the health consequences of what I ate and was a pleasure-seeking eater as any little one has a right to be. I was allowed to have pizza at lunch on some Fridays, and I was never denied Carvel ice cream cake at my friends’ birthday parties. I looked forward to those Fridays and any other time my mom would let me eat something she deemed unhealthy. My parents were not completely rigid; they only had healthy foods at home. They did not make me feel guilty or punish my siblings and me if we strayed. They understood that kids need some flexibility and are going to want to explore the food culture in our society. While I had some occasional treats, I still wished I was like the other kids. I wanted a box of Brownie cookies when my Brownie troop sold them, and I wanted my mom to buy me Lucky Charms like my friend Alyssa’s mom bought for her. Don’t get me wrong, I liked, and even loved, many of the foods that were provided for me at home. Yet as a young child, acceptance and pleasure trump health any day of the week.

Then everything changed. It began in the seventh grade and became an unstoppable force in eighth. Instead of being rebellious, I wanted to be the epitome of a healthful eater. The phrase “you are what you eat” finally kicked in, a pride in my unconventional eating habits blossomed, and I became an unstoppable walking nutrition encyclopedia. I went so far as to criticize my friends for their poor eating choices. “Are you really going to eat that donut?” I would proclaim, and then begin a diatribe on the dangers of consuming partially hydrogenated oils and trans fatty acids. Understandably, my friends were annoyed and thought I was nuts. After having so many friends become angry with me that year, I learned my lesson to set a good example, yet not attempt to give others diet advice unless I was asked.

Since that time I have continued to appreciate eating a natural, plant-based diet; not only because it is delicious, but because it grants me the gift of health. I could not be more grateful for being raised on our unconventional diet, and I am happy to report that I suffered no permanent damage from being allowed only three pieces of candy on Halloween. Many of the foods I grew up eating have become my favorite foods. I realize how fortunate I am to never have to transition to eating healthier foods as I was already there from the get-go.

Let my words be encouragement to all mothers who are having difficulties raising nutritious eaters in our junk-food world. Even if your children don’t appreciate the foods you are feeding them now or resent the denial of junk foods, they will in later years. Years that will be filled with good health, rather than debilitating health problems. Eating well is a lifestyle that should be embraced by the entire family. Every child deserves to have the best start in life and can learn to love being “different,” just like I did.

Talia Fuhrman is currently a senior at Cornell University studying nutritional sciences. Like her father, she wants to fight obesity and heart disease. She is currently a health writer for www.collegecandy.com and writes health articles for her school newspaper. Her hobbies include traveling, playing tennis, hiking, playing with her 8-year-old brother, and being an animal and environmental rights activist.

Photo Credit: SubtlePanda

The Scoop on Omega-3

Recently I saw a generic brand of knock-off Oreo cookies. Not surprisingly, the first ingredient was refined sugar and the second was bleached, white flour. Across the front of the box, larger than the name of the cookies, it said: omega-3. That was the most prominent text! And while omega-3 is vastly important (essential even), the way its suggested usage is being promoted has become somewhat misguided. As with many healthy foods or nutrients grabbed by the mainstream, omega-3 consumption is slightly misunderstood.

An upswing in awareness of omega-3 began to develop soon after a World Health Organization (WHO) report was released. The report suggested that the average North American eats a diet with a vastly out-of-balance ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, which was linked to serious health problems. Consumers of the Standard American Diet (SAD) commonly ingest 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3. This was of great concern since the WHO determined in their extensive study that the ideal ratio for optimal health is 4:1, provided both sources of omega-6 and omega-3 are of high quality and in their natural, unrefined form.

Those eating a SAD were consuming five times more omega-6 than the ideal. A significantly out-of-balance ratio such as this was being blamed for a broad spectrum of ailments. Inflammation contributing to joint pain was one of the chief concerns, but the list was long and varied. Difficulty sleeping, general mental and physical fatigue, sugar cravings, the inability to burn body fat effectively, dry skin and even poor memory were all suspected of being a result of this off-kilter ratio. Serious implications indeed.

As a consumer-minded society we immediately concluded that these findings meant we should get more omega-3 in our diet to compensate for the lopsided ratio. Was this a bad approach? Not particularly, but it certainly wasn’t the most logical. Seemingly overnight omega-3 became a buzzword and everyone wanted to increase their omega-3 intake. Of course the next question was, “can I buy omega-3 supplements?” The answer very quickly became yes. This was a good thing, but it was far from optimal.

Another finding that emerged from the same WHO study was not as celebrated. The report also suggested that the problem was not merely created by too much omega-6 but rather by its sources. In addition to a distorted ratio, denatured, refined and highly processed forms of fat containing omega-6 were found to be part of the problem. Essentially eating too many high-temperature fried foods, denatured oils and manufactured fats (commonly used in cheaper baked goods to increase shelf life) was being blamed.

Taking into account the WHO’s findings on the ideal ratio, those of us who eat a diet that does not regularly contain large amounts of high-temperature fried foods, hydrogenated fats (such as those found in some margarines) or trans fats have no reason to use supplements with a greater ratio of omega-3 to omega-6. It’s just not necessary. If, however, a large part of your diet consists of denatured fats, fried foods and manufactured oils…stop eating them! Don’t just supplement your diet with omega-3 and think that you’ve solved the problem by balancing your ratio. It’s false hope and nothing more than a bandage that will offer a mild reprieve of symptoms at best. The cause will remain, and the problem will continue to worsen until it is addressed.

There are many highly corrective oil formulas on the market that offer 1:2 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3. Because of the reasons I’ve stated, I believe the best approach is to eat a healthy, balanced diet of whole foods as opposed to taking a highly corrective formula. A healthy diet includes balanced cold-pressed oils that yield a ratio between 4:1 and 2:1. I often make a salad dressing that combines cold-pressed, organic hemp seed oil (70%), flax seed oil (20%) and pumpkin seed oil (10%). Straight hemp oil is another good choice.

The WHO report concludes the best way to bring the ratio back to a healthy balance is to simply cut back on all processed, denatured and manufactured fats with a goal of complete elimination. Cold-pressed forms of omega-6 are perfectly healthy and essential to optimal health. As long as their quantity does not surpass four parts for every one part of omega-3, optimal health will be obtainable.

Twins: Our Raw Food Journey

Michelle & Lori Corso

By Michelle & Lori Corso

We are twin sisters and we are also best friends. Our story has been a long and interesting one, but we will try to keep it short! Our journey to better health started at a young age. Our family has a history of stomach problems, mainly constipation, and the constipation led us to other health issues, including acne, hormonal imbalance, yeast, depression, and a constant battle over what foods to consume.

We understand constipation is not a fun topic for people to discuss, but we feel it is necessary. With so many over-the-counter treatments for constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and upset stomachs on the market, it is proof that this is a topic that requires addressing. We admit to falling into the ‘marketers’ trap of believing pills or powders would help our constipation, but they did not. These ‘so-called’ magic pills covered up our symptoms, while never reaching the core problem, and we were tired of being sick without getting any results. We had tried everything! As we grew older, we decided it was time for us take our health into our own hands.

Since traditional medicine was not working, we started looking into alternative treatments. Finding a more natural approach seemed to fit us, but it took over 20 years of suffering from constipation, acne, hormonal problems, and depression to come across the raw foods lifestyle. Transitioning into the raw foods lifestyle was easy because we had already eliminated so much out of our diets. Now, we are high raw vegans who eat gluten, wheat, peanut, corn, soy, yeast, egg and dairy free! After many long hours of research and personal trial and error, we realized our main solutions would be to clean out our colons and better support our livers, which are two main organs for toxin elimination and strong digestive health.

Tips to help cleanse the liver and colon:

1. Drink a glass of warm lemon water to help stimulate the liver and break down mucus
2. Drink a glass of 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar mixed with water to help with digestion
3. Eat choline rich foods to help the fat accumulation in the liver, including  raw sauerkraut and fermented veggies
4. Swallow a small clove of garlic to help the colon
5. Drink pumpkin seed milk to kill off parasites in the colon (and follow up with a colonic)
6. Make flax seed tea by pouring a cup of boiling water over 1 tbsp flax seeds and steep for 10 minutes. Drain out the seeds and drink the water
7. Beet, carrot, celery (or cucumber) juice is great for the liver
8. Eat lacto fermented foods, like kefir or kim chi, to help normalize the acidity of the stomach

We have been on our raw foods journey to better health for two years, and we still have a long journey ahead of us. We finally feel we are on the right path to heal our insides (colon and liver), not just cover up the symptoms by using traditional treatments. We document our journey on our blog, pure2raw.com, because we hope that we can help others with their digestive issues, let them know they are not alone, and show them that you do not have to live off of pills to get relief. When given the proper care, your body can heal naturally! On our blog, we share more of our story along with tips, our daily eats, recipes and mostly recently, our story of completing our second marathon.

Currently, raw foods, yoga, reducing stress, colonics, fermented foods, proper hydration, and exercise are a part of our daily lifestyle, and we are starting to see improvements, which, for us, is worth all the ‘detoxing’ symptoms, struggles, and criticisms from others, even our family. It has taken our family two years witnessing positive changes in both of us to understand the choices we have made, and we know our journey is not over. We are starting to see our skin clear, we are going to the bathroom more often, we sleep better, and we have more mental clarity. We are happy!

Some say they found raw foods, but raw foods found us. We hope to inspire others to be more open-minded and aware of digestive health because we believe in prevention. Take care of your liver and colon because they take care of you!

Michelle and Lori Corso are fraternal twins who are raw gluten free vegan chefs/bakers. They are living their life long dream by running their own bakery – Twin Cakes and raw uncooked bakery – Pure2raw. Learn more about the twins at their blog.

In Pursuit of Optimal Health & Happiness

Kookie Karma giveaway! Be the tenth person to tweet a link to this blog @CrazySexyLife and win a goodie bag filled with Kookie Karma’s delicious, healthy treats!

Juli Novotny, Founder of Kookie Karma

Where do I start when I don’t really know when my quest for health food began? I can’t even begin to articulate the energy that has been dedicated to my pursuit for optimal health.

Did my interest begin at age 14 when I decided that I loved horses too much to eat cow or chickens anymore? Or was it when I began removing the grease off of the top of pizza slices in the junior high school cafeteria? Maybe the fat-free diet my sister and I adhered to when I was 16? Or was it that same year when I took the job as head baker at a local cafe and saw what ingredients actually went into the morning cinnamon rolls? OR, better yet, was it my “incurable” case of eczema that I was determined to get rid of? I really can’t say. It’s been an ongoing journey to say the least.

Was I obsessed? Did I have an eating disorder? Some might have called it that! Or you could call it a fascination with the human body, the human mind, culture and socialization. OK, so at 16 I didn’t use the word socialization quite yet, but I watched everybody eat cafeteria food and wondered why it turned me off but was considered “normal” everyday lunch food to pretty much EVERYBODY else.

It was around this time in my life that I had a hunch it was the Standard American Diet (SAD) that was to blame for all of these ailments (low self-esteem, acne, ADHD, cellulite, obesity). I wasn’t positive, but the more I read on the topic, the more I began to question the SAD and start to believe in my own hypothesis.

Raw food was my next endeavor (or should I say encounter). For me, however, it was more of a culinary experience than a health one. I found Juliano’s RAW: The Uncook Book and thought the recipes looked amazing and fresh and well, smart. It was a challenge I wanted to undertake. And a challenge it was! Yet SO rewarding.

My “incurable” eczema disappeared in just one week and my whole face took on a radiant glow. I lost five pounds (wasn’t even trying) and I looked forward to rigorous daily workout because of all the energy rushing through my body. I was hooked and have been very interested in a 100% raw lifestyle ever since.

I don’t always adhere to a strict raw vegan diet. I indulge in other culinary delights – after all, I see it as an art form. But at home, and for the most part, I stay true to what I think is the best for my body and mind and my children’s health as well! Hooray for GREEN drinks!

Now, here I am, 30, a mom, and thankful for my teenage curiosities, seeing as though I have turned them into a thriving business and they’ve helped me courageously raise two healthy babies on what some might call a “crazy” Juli Diet! It’s a big undertaking being a parent. I’m starting an amazing new journey and having a lot of fun watching my 16 month old eat things like flax oil, carrot juice, sunflower seed pate, kale salad, green smoothies, raw chocolate milk, almond milk, sprouted grawnola, and so on (“a bite, a bite” he says every time he sees me taking trays out of our dehydrator)!

I absolutely love my current daily routine and the bigger picture of my life right now. But of course my quest is ongoing and I could be really excited about something totally new and different next year (or even tomorrow). Life changes daily. As the Buddhists believe, Nothing Is Permanent, right? Thank goodness!

Right after graduating from UCLA, Juli jump-started her career – turning her passion for gourmet food and nutrition into one of the first raw food companies on the market, Kookie Karma. She has since created a child and pregnancy nutrition blog full of recipes and baby product information.