3 Days of Veganism

There have been a number of factors leading up to this dietary experiment but in the end, it was a viewing of 'Forks Over Knives' that made me consider an all-plant-based diet for a few days. When I heard that a family member close to me (and not that much older) had cholesterol in the 300s and another friend (mid-50s) had a heart attack and not even realize it, I thought it was time to consider the benefits.

Since I've been mostly vegetarian for a couple of years now (solid exceptions: my mother's meatloaf, organic-grassfed-local beef and anything killed in a hunt), the idea of cutting out cheese, dairy, eggs, and even honey. sounded ludicrous. Man, I do loves my cheese, especially bleu, tossed in a spinach salad. Plus, I'm a cold cereal fan from way back and milk is a key part of that scenario.

But since I've taken to running almost every day, I'm looking to take my diet more seriously too. Thankfully, I'm without ailments or conditions and every doctor I speak to is always alarmed that I take no medications, only vitamin supplements (1-a-day, calcium w/D and fish oil). Why are they surprised?

Because in 2007, the average American had 12.6 prescriptions a year, up from 8.9 in 1997, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. We keep throwing drugs at all our health problems, meanwhile, we get sicker and sicker, fatter and fatter. 

To be clear, I don't think it is necessary the eating of any meat that is the issue, it's the heightened frequency of eating modern meat (bursting with anti-biotics and hormones) that is the real problem. 

"He found that people who consumed about one serving of red meat (beef, pork or lamb) per day had a 13 percent increased risk of mortality, compared with those who were eating very little meat. And processed meats raised the risk higher, to about a 20 percent increased risk of death from diseases including cancer and heart disease."

--'Death By Bacon? Study Finds Eating Meat Is Risky', NPR, 3/12/12

Anyway, I am carrying extra weight that I would not miss so we're giving the whole vegan thing a go and see what, if anything, my body has to say about it. If I can manage it, I may just be vegan M-F and go back to just being a standard food snob on the weekends.

Hoping to get some help from my very talented friend, Susan, who runs a wildly successful site and blog, Fat Free Vegan. She also lives in Mississippi, which makes me love her more.