Photo Source: Amur Leopard by Chris Parker via Flickr
“I could never be Vegan, I like my meat too much””
“I had a friend who went Vegan and got really sick”
“I’m doing the Paleo Diet and losing a lot of weight……..”
Once you become Vegan you’ll hear just about every excuse in the book why it’s not practical or healthy, so prepare yourself.
We have become so programmed by TV Commercials, Magazines, and Billboards that we actually believe that “Beef, It’s What’s For Dinner“, or that “Milk, It Does a Body Good“.
Your best defense against these Top 5 Excuses for Not Going Vegan?
Educate yourself with as much information as you can on why a Whole Foods, Plant-Based, Vegan diet is the healthiest diet on the planet.
I Tried Going Vegan Once And It Made Me Sick
You can eat nothing but French Fries and Diet Coke and call yourself a Vegan. But will you feel good? Probably not.
You have to be smart about it and eat the right foods – whole foods – like Fruit, Vegetables and Starches, and stay away from the processed junk food – even if it is labeled ‘Vegan’.
Sometimes people are so out of shape that even if they do start to follow a healthy Vegan Diet – they won’t feel that good. They may even start to feel worse.
This could simply be a detox time as your body adjusts to get rid of all the accumulated toxins. And by get rid of I mean by any means it can…. throwing up, diarrhea, flu like symptoms, whatever. It’s not pleasant, but it usually passes pretty quickly. And then you feel amazing.
Sadly a lot of people will see this as a sign something’s wrong, and quit. Just hang in there, it will get better.
I Need My Protein
Of course you need your protein. We all need our protein. But look around you. 2/3’s of Americans are overweight and 1/3rd of them are obese. Do you really think we have a protein problem as a society?
If you’re eating enough, and eating a variety of whole foods, you will get all the protein you need.
For example,
- Lentils and soymilk contain over 30 percent protein.
- Fifteen percent of the calories in whole wheat pasta are from protein
- Even brown rice has protein, at about eight percent of calories.
Even potatoes have protein. And don’t worry about combining your proteins which was made popular in the 1970’s. That’s old news and has been debunked many times.
Know this: there has never been a documented case of protein deficiency. Ever.
The only way you can become protein deficient is if you starve yourself. So eat up!
Plants Have Feelings Too
Really? Remember elementary school biology? Plants and animals are just a teeny bit different!
Plants don’t have brains or nervous systems with which to feel pain. (And they don’t usually scream when you pick them.) Does this mean that we can say with absolute certainty that plants cannot have a consciousness or feel pain? I suppose we can never be 100 percent certain….
But here’s something I DO know — for sure…
The animals we eat are conscious.
And they most certainly do feel fear and pain, especially when they are being boiled or dismembered alive, something that all too often happens in Factory Farms.
I Was Raised To Eat Meat
I think most of us were. Our parents didn’t know any better, and were only doing what their parents did, and their parents before them.
Just because it’s the ‘way it’s always been done’ or ‘it’s what humans have been doing for centuries’, is not much of a reason to continue doing something, especially if it’s been proven to be bad for you.
Red meat is high in saturated fat (which clogs your arteries), and there’s also evidence that processed meat, such as bacon and hot dogs, increases your risk of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.
Old habits die hard – but they can be changed.
We Have Canines So We’re Meant To Eat Meat
That sounds logical because we do have 4 pointy teeth. But – human canine teeth much more closely resemble the canine teeth of horses, hippos, elephants and gorillas, all of which happen to be plant eaters.
But have you ever look inside a bear’s mouth? Or a wolf? How about a lion? Their pointy teeth are a lot longer and sharper than ours. (And if you DO have teeth like that – maybe you should try out for the next episode of Twilight. )
Carnivores have those sharp, pointy teeth so they can catch, kill, rip, tear, and eat the flesh right off their prey. Can you do that? The only thing we seem to be able to tear into is a big, greasy cheeseburger from Burger King.
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And I’m sure for every one of these excuses, you’ll hear 10 more.
People LOVE to find reasons to continue their bad habits. Sadly, it usually takes something drastic, like an illness or trip to the hospital to get people to change.
And sometimes even then they won’t.
Just realize that there are more and more studies coming out every day that point to a plant-based vegan diet as the healthiest diet on the planet.
You can lose weight, you can lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, you can stop and even reverse your diabetes, and yes – you can even reverse heart disease and clean out your clogged arteries.
All by eating the right food.
So don’t let these excuses deter you. Stay the path and you’ll soon see what so many of us already know.
Plant-Based Diets work.
No excuses. Just do it.
