I haven't eaten meat for over thirty years and have, for some months now, stepped up my diet, because I had become complacent. I was eating all sorts of ingredients that were essentially no good for me. One such section of consumables, was dairy products. Now, I loved my cups of tea and would drink from a massive mug, from morning to noon. I had managed to go de-caffeineated, but upon learning about the process, felt it better to have good, organic, black tea, but just in the morning, maybe two or three cups, but aiming to cut down.
Suffice to say, it was a major decision, but it was so much easier than I thought. Anyhoo, I have been considering the general vegetarian and vegan diets and especially those in the U.K., where I am. It seems to me that all of the processed and packaged vegetarian and vegan foods are in some way detrimental to our overall health.
This goes right down to recipes and videos of vegan pies, tarts, quiches and all kinds of so-called healthy recipes and creations. Please don't get me wrong, and I get it if you do, but I am in no way at all having a dig at any genre of foodsters, especially vegans. I fit into that box. What I am getting at is the ingredients used in most of these recipes and the main issue is with gluten.
picture source: https://foodallergyfroggie.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/fgfcs-what-does-gluten-look-like/
Gluten could possibly be causing “tiny holes” to form in your intestines (aka, leaky gut) from the chronic inflammation that gluten can cause… and can also be causing nutrient deficiencies from damage to specialized cells in your intestines that control nutrient absorption. There are claims that gluten only affect a very small percentage of people (around 3%), but research is revealing evidence that gluten could be creating life-depleting side effects from eating it, without us realising it.
Let us remove the scientific explanations and descriptions a minute, just to take a look at gluten itself. If you look at the picture above, it gives you a good idea of what it is you are putting into your body. Digestion issues lead to so many health problems. The inflammation of the stomach that gluten creates lead to and develops into various health issues, such as:
Digestive issues (Abdominal pains, bloating, constipation, diarrhea).
Fatigue and brain fog.
Joint pain (Latin- arthritis).
Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet.
Keratosis Pilaris (also known as 'chicken skin').
........ amonst other potential problems.
So, what are the alternatives to gluten? Well, wherever there is gluten, there is almost always a gluten free alternative. Some of these are not so tasty, but most are really nice and you always have the option of getting creative in the kitchen and making your own breads and pastries, sauces and fillings, drinks and snacks. Obviously, when you choose this option, you are in complete control of what you ingest, digest and draw nutrients from.
Since changing my diet, I have been making lots of different foods that I haven't made before. Almond milk is one of them, which is excellent, because from the waste almonds, you can make fruit and/or nut bars. I will hopefully be getting round to what my diet consists of and what ingredients I use and why, but I just wanted to remind all of us that have made a conscious choice, when it comes to what we eat, that we need to be constantly vigilant of ourselves, lest we stray from the path and end up eating something that would have seriously freaked us out at the beginning of our journey.
picture source: http://www.lovethispic.com/image/285700/i%27m-not-eating-that
I think that the problem with the 'brands' 'vegan' and 'vegetarian', is that they are misleading, because their biggest asset, according to their promotional and advertising message is one of 'healthier'. A healthier option than dairy or meat. Healthier food for a healthier diet. This is the same with organic food. It is more expensive, because it isn't grown in a tent somewhere, hydroponically or by other 'un-natural' method. So, if vegan and vegetarian diets contain gluten, oftentimes as a staple and sometimes as a replacement for such things like vegan duck, then I wish to be neither.
I still encourage and welcome vegans and vegetarians, of course, as they have made certain choices that I resonate with and respect. I have just found, personally, that by removing certain things like gluten, I am all the more better in myself for doing so. I have found myself desiring less bread anyway and prefer sweet potato rotis and gram flour pancakey things. There are so many foods that keep us from getting ill, by providing our bodies with the correct balance of nutients.
photo source: http://seemasahani.com/
It's a commercial matter and I feel that there might be a lot of vegans and vegetarians unknowingly doing themselves a disservice, by being tricked by the whole, somewhat questionable (in my opinion) ethos of the cause/movement or personal decision. The companies that produce such foods might be forgiven, somewhat and there are ethical companies around that avoid using certain ingredients, so there is stuff out there that ticks most or all of the boxes, but when it comes to recipes, I really feel that they should be updated and if genuinely claiming that they are healthy and a healthy option, then the ingredients should be re-assessed and the removal of gluten from the recipes and products would be an enormous step forward in the growth of education with regards to food and which of it we eat, and how we eat it.
These are all personal choice issues, and I wouldn't want to force any issues on anybody, but I feel that a 'Gluten Heavy' label on foods might be helpful. This would help vegans and vegetarians to make finer selections, after choosing to cut certain foodstuffs out of their diets. That said, it is also a lifestyle change, when you change your diet. It can seem daunting to have to continually make food and drinks from scratch.............
picture source: http://brightlinefood.com/index.php/tag/eating-the-feelings-away/
but most often, they are quicker to make than it would take to go to the shops and buy. They taste so much better when you make your own and you can make large batches and freeze them. I saw it as an education and people think that there is a lot of controversy and dispute over which foods are good for you and which are not, but certain matters have been established and the beneficial qualities of many ingredients have been recognised as exactly that.
Thank you, very much, for reading and I hope you found it interesting.
All the best.