Hello!
It has been way too long since I last posted but the university semester really ramped up and I fell behind on my posts.
A lot has happened since the end of February, it's just a matter of remembering it all!
My hair colour change has been scheduled for tomorrow. I'm still going down the path of going blonde, then natural. My hair has some red in it so as of tomorrow I'll be a ginger (and not the pretty kind) but hopefully that won't last too long. I've managed to source vegan hair dye, as well as vegan hair bleaching kits. The bleach is a little harder to get unfortunately as the online store doesn't ship internationally. If I do manage to work out a practical way of getting it sent over then I may be able to stay blonde for longer than a few months, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I've been using the Oil Cleansing Method for a few weeks solid now. If I'm perfectly honest, I can't say I've noticed a huge difference in my skin. It still gets oily, I still have pimples... actually, I have noticed more pronounced blackheads on my chin over the last few weeks now that I think about it. I'll keep plugging on though, as it's certainly saving me money. And if it's not making my skin worse, then that alone is worth the effort!
The Fertility Awareness Method is still under construction. By that I mean that I'm still trying to work out my body before I can rely on it as a concrete method of contraception. Despite having no active baby-prevention strategies underway at the moment, I'm really enjoying the knowledge I'm gaining about my body. At the doctor's the other day, after I told him I was no longer on the pill (and wasn't interested in any type of hormonal contraception) he reminded me to check for pregnancy if I stopped having my period. I confidently told him that I'd know if I were pregnant a long time before I noticed my period was late, something I definitely wouldn't have been able to say before.
I've been off the pill for a few months now and there have been definite changes. I've lost weight, seemingly all from my bust (boo!), my periods are more painful than they were on the pill and my cycles are taking a while to settle into a natural rhythm. My last cycle lasted for 49 days, my longest ever! I have no idea what was going on for those 7 weeks but hopefully it's my body getting all the weirdness out of its system and I can start to rely on some patterns. My poor partner's patience is wearing quite thin, I can tell you!
In terms of food, we've been trying out a few new concoctions recently. I've tried a new vegan cheese recipe which is very nice and so so easy to make. Also, after my Krispy Kreme dream in my last post I decided to check once and for all. I was disappointed (not surprised) and amused to see that according to the official website, in terms of animal products, Krispy Kreme doughnuts only contain eggs, butter, milk, yoghurt and whey! A local imitator, Dreamy Donuts also came up negative on the vegan-friendly search. So I set about making my own. It took me a few different recipes and some constructive criticism from my partner before I found the one. The good part is that it takes so long to fry the bloody things that it's an occasional treat, and also much cheaper than store-bought versions.
I'm a real junk-food addict, and giving up a lot of my vices in the process of becoming vegan has been really difficult. Even now, after about 8 or 9 months, I still crave potato chips. It takes all of my willpower not to buy them in the supermarket, even knowing that they aren't vegan. I've never managed to find anything that satisfies that craving. Maybe I never will. I realise these are totally first-world problems, but I do live in the first world!
I think that's about all I have time for right now, but that's definitely not all I have to say, so I'll be back later with more updates. I'll do my best not to leave it two months until the next time I post!
Showing posts with label dairy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dairy. Show all posts
Monday, 30 April 2012
Saturday, 14 January 2012
What if
Disclaimer: I am not racist. I mean no offence to any readers. But discrimination should not be supported in any form; you can't say that one type is acceptable (speciesism) and another (racism) is not.
An ad for formula in some junk mail the other day got me thinking (the formula was listed as casein-based).
What if we decided that the mammary secretions of a species entirely separate to our own was not cutting it nutritionally? That if our children needed to be formula-fed, then it should at least be as nutritionally sound as their own mother's breastmilk? And what if we decided that in order to get that formula, we'd target helpless inhabitants of refugee camps in war-torn African countries and mechanically rape and impregnate all women of child-bearing age? We'd look after them and feed them while they were gestating for nine long months, while they were preparing mentally and emotionally for the arrival of their child. And what if, once the child was born, we tore the newborn away from his mother, ignoring her protests and her grief, ignoring the baby's confusion and suffering? What if we took the milk that was destined for that little baby and we collected it from the mother, pasteurised and dehydrated it and used it to make formula for Western babies? What if we murdered the male babies and kept the little girls captive so that they could grow up and be routinely mechanically raped and contribute their own milk once they came of child-bearing age? And what if we kept their mothers imprisoned and constantly bearing children she wasn't allowed to hold until she was no longer able to produce adequately profitable amounts of milk, at which point, at best, we'd leave her to her poverty.
And mothers in first-world countries could breathe sighs of relief that despite not breastfeeding for whatever reason, at least their children were able to be raised to be big and strong on nutrient-full human milk. "Thank goodness for formula", they'd say.
What if?
Thank god for milk.
An ad for formula in some junk mail the other day got me thinking (the formula was listed as casein-based).
What if we decided that the mammary secretions of a species entirely separate to our own was not cutting it nutritionally? That if our children needed to be formula-fed, then it should at least be as nutritionally sound as their own mother's breastmilk? And what if we decided that in order to get that formula, we'd target helpless inhabitants of refugee camps in war-torn African countries and mechanically rape and impregnate all women of child-bearing age? We'd look after them and feed them while they were gestating for nine long months, while they were preparing mentally and emotionally for the arrival of their child. And what if, once the child was born, we tore the newborn away from his mother, ignoring her protests and her grief, ignoring the baby's confusion and suffering? What if we took the milk that was destined for that little baby and we collected it from the mother, pasteurised and dehydrated it and used it to make formula for Western babies? What if we murdered the male babies and kept the little girls captive so that they could grow up and be routinely mechanically raped and contribute their own milk once they came of child-bearing age? And what if we kept their mothers imprisoned and constantly bearing children she wasn't allowed to hold until she was no longer able to produce adequately profitable amounts of milk, at which point, at best, we'd leave her to her poverty.
And mothers in first-world countries could breathe sighs of relief that despite not breastfeeding for whatever reason, at least their children were able to be raised to be big and strong on nutrient-full human milk. "Thank goodness for formula", they'd say.
What if?
Thank god for milk.
Monday, 2 January 2012
The China Study
If I had ever wavered on consuming dairy products before I found this book, I was as strict as could be after reading it. Putting my ethical concerns aside, I now avoid dairy, meat and eggs like the plague. They may as well be.
I discovered this book after becoming vegetarian, in the early days I spent trawling through animal issues on the internet, scrolling down through seemingly-endless comments on various blogs. I was learning a lot but how reliable were my sources? I could never be sure that what these vegans were talking about was truth or just biased information. When one commmenter claimed that "milk causes cancer", well, I was blown away. This was extreme, especially with the reverence and fear with which we treat "the Big C". But my interest was piqued and I kept reading. The China Study was mentioned. I kept reading. The China Study was mentioned again. And again, and again. I went to different articles, different blogs and this title to a book I'd never even heard of before just kept coming up. So I researched the book, told my partner about it and not long after we bought a copy from our local New Editions bookstore. My partner read it before me (normally I would find it unbearable to have to wait to read a new book but I was so busy with university that I didn't even mind) and would excitedly relate to me snippets of information from the book, all the while begging me to please stop drinking milk.
The title of the book tends to put people off, I think. It is all about nutrition, so why the China Study? Well, the research presented in this book all stems down to an ongoing epidemiological study started decades ago in China by T. Colin Campbell, PhD where the effects of nutrition on human health first began to be truly realised. In the book, the results of the China Study are presented, as well as the results of many other scientific and medical trials and studies, all relating to nutrition and the role that it plays in our health. Basically, animal products are ridiculously dangerous for our health, and plant-based whole foods are ridiculously good for us. We all sort of knew this already, right? Everybody knows that fruits and vegetables are good for you, and that eating too much cheese or red meat may cause health problems. But I was, and I suspect most other people who consume a Western diet are, totally unaware of the true impact that animal products have on disease development. For example, although heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in Australia, we all sort of think of it as an fat person's problem, yeah? That if you eat a well-balanced diet, drink alcohol in moderation, and exercise regularly, then we'll be exempt, and that heart attacks are bound to happen if you're overweight or just generally unhealthy..? Well in the 1950s autopsies were performed on the bodies of 300 American soldiers killed in action in the Korean War. The average age of the soldiers was 22 years old. Military medical researchers found that 77% of the hearts of these soldiers showed large evidence of heart disease. Now when you think of heart disease I bet a fit 22 year old soldier doesn't spring to mind as the typical victim.
But heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, gall stones, obesity, multiple sclerosis and dementia can all be prevented or their effects reduced by avoiding animal-based foods and consuming a plant-based, wholefoods diet.
On a personal level, I have in my extended family one family member who may be obese, two who have died from cancer, four more who have fought cancer and survived, some of them multiple times, one family member with Type 2 Diabetes, one with Alzheimer's dementia, and immediate family members who have struggled with weight issues and had multiple incidences of skin cancer. (Editor's note: I can now unfortunately add one family member who has had a massive stroke.) So, no heart disease, and no autoimmune diseases, but just about every other sickness that could be prevented or managed with a plant-based diet. And while written like that it may seem like a lot, is it really? Think of your own families, and people that you know. What's the bet that your own experience of these diseases is not too dissimilar to mine?
I am incredibly grateful to have found The China Study. So many myths about food have been exploded, so many fears about inevitable illness allayed. I'm no longer feeding myself with poison. From a health perspective, I am so relieved that veganism is the absolute best way to live. I found the information in this book so precious that I gifted a copy to each immediate family member for Christmas in the hope that they can avoid a life of illness. I only hope that they read it, as it truly is a life-saver. I wish everyone could have access to the information that this book provides. Well they all do, it's just a matter of choosing to read it.
I discovered this book after becoming vegetarian, in the early days I spent trawling through animal issues on the internet, scrolling down through seemingly-endless comments on various blogs. I was learning a lot but how reliable were my sources? I could never be sure that what these vegans were talking about was truth or just biased information. When one commmenter claimed that "milk causes cancer", well, I was blown away. This was extreme, especially with the reverence and fear with which we treat "the Big C". But my interest was piqued and I kept reading. The China Study was mentioned. I kept reading. The China Study was mentioned again. And again, and again. I went to different articles, different blogs and this title to a book I'd never even heard of before just kept coming up. So I researched the book, told my partner about it and not long after we bought a copy from our local New Editions bookstore. My partner read it before me (normally I would find it unbearable to have to wait to read a new book but I was so busy with university that I didn't even mind) and would excitedly relate to me snippets of information from the book, all the while begging me to please stop drinking milk.
The title of the book tends to put people off, I think. It is all about nutrition, so why the China Study? Well, the research presented in this book all stems down to an ongoing epidemiological study started decades ago in China by T. Colin Campbell, PhD where the effects of nutrition on human health first began to be truly realised. In the book, the results of the China Study are presented, as well as the results of many other scientific and medical trials and studies, all relating to nutrition and the role that it plays in our health. Basically, animal products are ridiculously dangerous for our health, and plant-based whole foods are ridiculously good for us. We all sort of knew this already, right? Everybody knows that fruits and vegetables are good for you, and that eating too much cheese or red meat may cause health problems. But I was, and I suspect most other people who consume a Western diet are, totally unaware of the true impact that animal products have on disease development. For example, although heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in Australia, we all sort of think of it as an fat person's problem, yeah? That if you eat a well-balanced diet, drink alcohol in moderation, and exercise regularly, then we'll be exempt, and that heart attacks are bound to happen if you're overweight or just generally unhealthy..? Well in the 1950s autopsies were performed on the bodies of 300 American soldiers killed in action in the Korean War. The average age of the soldiers was 22 years old. Military medical researchers found that 77% of the hearts of these soldiers showed large evidence of heart disease. Now when you think of heart disease I bet a fit 22 year old soldier doesn't spring to mind as the typical victim.
But heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, gall stones, obesity, multiple sclerosis and dementia can all be prevented or their effects reduced by avoiding animal-based foods and consuming a plant-based, wholefoods diet.
On a personal level, I have in my extended family one family member who may be obese, two who have died from cancer, four more who have fought cancer and survived, some of them multiple times, one family member with Type 2 Diabetes, one with Alzheimer's dementia, and immediate family members who have struggled with weight issues and had multiple incidences of skin cancer. (Editor's note: I can now unfortunately add one family member who has had a massive stroke.) So, no heart disease, and no autoimmune diseases, but just about every other sickness that could be prevented or managed with a plant-based diet. And while written like that it may seem like a lot, is it really? Think of your own families, and people that you know. What's the bet that your own experience of these diseases is not too dissimilar to mine?
I am incredibly grateful to have found The China Study. So many myths about food have been exploded, so many fears about inevitable illness allayed. I'm no longer feeding myself with poison. From a health perspective, I am so relieved that veganism is the absolute best way to live. I found the information in this book so precious that I gifted a copy to each immediate family member for Christmas in the hope that they can avoid a life of illness. I only hope that they read it, as it truly is a life-saver. I wish everyone could have access to the information that this book provides. Well they all do, it's just a matter of choosing to read it.
Thursday, 29 December 2011
History continued...
So yes, I took the not uncommon path of being a vegetarian before a vegan. Actually, I will freely admit, I used to make fun of vegans. When explaining my new dietary choices to friends and relatives, I would often have to make a distinction between vegetarianism and veganism, often by saying something along the lines of, "Yes, I still eat cheese. I'm not a bloody hippie/crazy vegan/one of those people." I thought vegans were weird, over the top, fanatical. What the hell was wrong with eating honey? Cows need to be milked or their udders will get sore, etc. etc. I had no intention of cutting the deliciousness that is dairy products out of my diet. Those that know me best know I would happily survive on a diet of cheese, chocolate, icecream, pasta, bread, chocolate and cheese. Oh and some more cheese.
It wasn't until one day I was explaining myself yet again ("No, I'm not a crazy vegan, yes, I still have dairy") that my brother asked me if I was aware of bobby calves and the role they play in the dairy industry. "Look it up," he told me. I still remember discussing it with my partner before we did any research. We were holding off because we didn't know if we would like what we'd find. I knew one thing: I did not want to be a vegan. I just liked dairy way too much. But we knew that we were choosing to live in denial if we didn't enlighten ourselves. So, one day, I sat down at the computer and I typed 'bobby calves' into the search engine... and that was the beginning of the end of my vegetarianism. As much as I didn't want to cut food that tasted good out of my life, the truth was staring me in the face: there were so many more harmful processes that I was buying into.
In all honesty, becoming vegan was a gradual process for me, even after I knew everything I did about bees, chickens, cows and the industries related to their produce. My resolve grew as time passed... I know I would have become as strict as I am now (in other words, just plain vegan) eventually. But the two things that pushed me across the threshold? The China Study, and Earthlings.
It wasn't until one day I was explaining myself yet again ("No, I'm not a crazy vegan, yes, I still have dairy") that my brother asked me if I was aware of bobby calves and the role they play in the dairy industry. "Look it up," he told me. I still remember discussing it with my partner before we did any research. We were holding off because we didn't know if we would like what we'd find. I knew one thing: I did not want to be a vegan. I just liked dairy way too much. But we knew that we were choosing to live in denial if we didn't enlighten ourselves. So, one day, I sat down at the computer and I typed 'bobby calves' into the search engine... and that was the beginning of the end of my vegetarianism. As much as I didn't want to cut food that tasted good out of my life, the truth was staring me in the face: there were so many more harmful processes that I was buying into.
In all honesty, becoming vegan was a gradual process for me, even after I knew everything I did about bees, chickens, cows and the industries related to their produce. My resolve grew as time passed... I know I would have become as strict as I am now (in other words, just plain vegan) eventually. But the two things that pushed me across the threshold? The China Study, and Earthlings.
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