Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 142
January 19, 2012
la weekly's top ten famous vegans
This is a fun little list of public figures who are vegan including everyone from former President Bill Clinton to Lisa Simpson to yours truly I'm number 4.
Who are some of your favorite vegans famous or not?
The health section is proudly sponsored by Kaeng Raeng natural detox. Make sure to check out their 3 or 6 day vegan detox programs here:
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January 18, 2012
kind classics: vegan pregnancy q&a part 3
If a mother is vegan will there be enough nutrients in her breast milk?
Susan: Yes. But first it's important to note what her child will not be getting. Mothers who are not yet vegan have more chemical pollutants in their breast milk compared with vegan mothers. Having said that it is always important to ensure complete nutrition. Women need more Vitamin B-12 during pregnancy and lactation. For vegan moms it is important to continue B-12 supplementation throughout all stages of the lifecycle.
Vegan mothers should make sure they have a reliable source of Vitamin D sun exposure fortified foods or talk to a healthcare provider about supplementation and iodine iodized salt does the trick in the mother's diet while breastfeeding as well.
Will a pregnant woman or woman who is breastfeeding get enough calcium if she is vegan?
Susan: Yes calcium needs are easily met when consuming plant foods. Leafy green vegetables have the most absorbable form of calcium kale collards broccoli Brussels sprouts. Beans are a good choice. Supplemented beverages such as soy milk and rice milk can be part of a healthful diet as well.
Does a vegan baby get enough good fat?
Christina: They can if the mother is eating enough fat while nursing and once the baby moves to solid food. Foods like avocado tofu oils oats pureed cooked nuts and seeds in food as long as there are no allergies are good sources of fat for babies.
Susan: Yes. A vegan baby gets everything the mother consumes. If the mother is eating a good ratio of essential fatty acids and avoiding the less desirable fats the baby will reap the benefits. If the mother is consuming a typical high-fat American diet then the baby will be at a disadvantage.
Are there advantages to raising kids on vegan diets?
Susan: You are doing your kids a huge favor by starting them off on the right dietary path. Building meals from vegetables whole grains legumes and fruits will help them to stay slim and as research shows more and more help them stay healthy for life.
When children have healthful vegan eating habits right from the start they will learn to maintain vitamin- and fiber-rich cholesterol-free eating style throughout their lives.
Will a vegan child get enough Vitamin B-12?
Susan: Yes easily. So long as the mother takes a reliable source of B-12 then a breast-feeding child will get enough B-12. Anybody who consumes a vegan diet will need to take a reliable B-12 source. This is easily done either via fortified foods or supplements such as any typical multiple vitamin.
Christina: For Vitamin B-12 both the sublingual tablets and the shots are effective. The difference is with the sublingual you need to take the supplement daily and with the shots you have an immediate reaction - fabulous energy! Most people will not need another shot for several weeks or months. I like both the shots and the sublingual but for most people the sublingual is enough anywhere from 500-1500 mcg daily.
Alicia: You can learn more about Vitamin B-12 here.
Is there a difference between raising girls vegan versus raising boys vegan?
Susan: There are no major differences between raising vegan boys and girls. Nutrient needs for the whole family are easily met by providing a varied plant-based diet. Vegan children in general tend to consume more protective foods such as fiber iron folate and antioxidants such as vitamins A and C compared with non-vegetarians. They also eat fewer sweets and more fruits and vegetables!
What kind of vegan-friendly lotion helps with stretch marks?
Christina: There is a product called organic beauty breast cream that says it can prevent and can even help repair existing stretch marks...I have not used it but it comes highly recommended. On the other hand I have had experience with pure hemp seed oil and it does an amazing job or preventing and helping to repair stretch marks...and the cool thing is that it's so high in omega 3 that is soaks right into the skin and doesn't leave you oily...
Alicia: If you are pregnant or are planning to get pregnant I highly recommend reading Dr. Holly Roberts' book Your Vegetarian Pregnancy. She has thirty years of experience as an obstetrician and a vegetarian. In her book she covers the details of nutrition for vegetarian vegan and macrobiotic diets for pregnant women. She also discusses the experience of pregnancy month by month - it's a must-read!
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January 17, 2012
kind classics: vegan pregnancy q&a part 2
Are prenatal vitamins vegan?
Christina: Not all of them but there are brands that are. I have seen women have good results with Deva vegan prenatal multivitamins. Both Mega and Rainbow Light brands of prenatal vitamins are also of the highest quality and have worked hard to not contribute to the upset stomachs that so many pregnant women deal with. These vitamins have all the nutrients needed and are designed to get to the cells more efficiently.
Would a woman who is vegan during pregnancy need to take more supplements than a non-vegan pregnant woman?
Susan: The needs are the same between vegan and non-vegan pregnant women with the exception of iron. The prenatal vitamin takes care of most of the iron needs during pregnancy. Because vegans do not get their iron from meat it is advisable to focus on plant sources of iron such as whole grains beans spinach chard dried fruits and beets. You can increase the absorbability of dietary iron by pairing iron foods with high Vitamin C foods.
Christina: Dark leafy greens like kale collards and bok choy are a great sources of iron in our diets. Broccoli whole wheat black turtle beans escarole watercress dandelion greens and lentils are all great sources of iron as well. Try to limit spinach and Swiss chard as they contain high levels of oxalic acid which inhibits absorption of calcium and iron.
Iodine like that found in Kombu or iodized sea salt is important during pregnancy and breast feeding because iodine deficiency is the cause of the most preventable form of brain damage in newborns. It's been my experience that most macrobiotic women who do not eat fish are deficient in iodine - but getting enough is as simple as using iodized sea salt or taking a kelp supplement.
Are there solid facts that state that a vegan pregnancy is healthier than a non-vegan pregnancy?
Christina: According to www.happycow.net and www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com a vegan pregnancy can be just as healthy and nutritionally adequate as any other. Experts like Dr. Neal Barnard will take it a step further and tell you that a properly nourished vegan woman will be healthier during pregnancy and not struggle as much with digestive issues bloating swelling of the feet insomnia and all the other things that plague women during this special time.
Susan: In a 1987 study of 1700 pregnancies at a vegan community in Tennessee pregnancies were dramatically healthier. And only one in 100 babies had to be delivered by cesarean section compared with much higher rates in the general population.
Alicia: All of the vegan pregnancies I have witnessed have been way smoother than those of my non-vegan friends. My friends Heather Laura Lalayna Desire and "Macro-Mom" Sarah Forrester Wendt did not have to worry about all the medications and interventions that our society has come to consider normal. From my point of view the more vegan you are the more healthy you are – and that makes your pregnancy go more easily and helps your baby to be super duper healthy!
Will eating vegan increase the risk of the baby developing certain allergies later in life?
Susan: A vegan diet offers increased intake of immune boosting foods to help protect against chronic health problems.
Christina: As long as the mother is getting adequate amounts of zinc in her diet or as a supplement there is no concern. Zinc is essential to health. It doesn't prevent allergies directly but having a balanced concentration of zinc in the body results in a strong immune function that often is the key in allergy prevention and treatment. Zinc can be found in foods like whole wheat and nuts.
In part 3 we'll cover child nutrition and breastfeeding. Stay tuned!
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success story: karlys eye-opening research paper
Kind Lifer Karly recently shared how researching factory farming has helped her to continue her kind journey. Check it out:
"I am writing you to share with you a small story of inspiration that I credit quite a bit to you. This past semester I decided to go back to school. I had traveled a lot over the last few years and done various things in order to 'find myself.' Now at twenty-three years old I feel like I am on a path. School was a challenge for me at first and I recently was diagnosed with ADD. This was quite disheartening but I realized I could either hide from it or take it full throttle and battle it with strength. With the mental change I decided I wanted to make a physical change as well. I then picked up your book The Kind Diet and it really helped me to grow and see that food is a healing tool. I still am on my ADD meds but adopting a kind diet slowly...I'm still a bit of a 'flirt' has been an incredibly beneficial and educational tool in helping to conquer my ADD.
Because of this growth and movement in my life over the past few months I had the opportunity to decide between two options for a final research paper for my English class: write about an issue with education or volunteer and write on a social matter of my choice. Your book and writings inspired me heavily therefore I chose to write about the environmental economical and personally physical impact of factory farming and genetically modified foods. Because of this paper I know that if I really work hard at something I can achieve incredible things all while educating myself and others at the same time. I've discovered writing as a passion and I feel like I am now on a path toward fulfilling that."
Yay Karly! Keep us updated on your kind journey and be sure to reach out to other flirts vegans and superheroes in the kind forum for advice and support. All you kind lifers can also read Karly's paper here.
If any of you have a success story to share private message me or upload your story to your profile and "like" it. I may feature you on the homepage of The Kind Life!
The health section is proudly sponsored by Kaeng Raeng natural detox. Make sure to check out their 3 or 6 day vegan detox programs here:
January 16, 2012
kind classics: vegan pregnancy q&a part 1
Christina Pirello and Susan Levin have answered some of your very important questions about vegan pregnancy. These are the most common questions I received from you Kind Lifers when I first asked January of 2010. There's a lot of great information below so take a look at it and keep those questions coming! I'll be posting more answers to your questions in parts 2 & 3!
What kind of formula should a vegan baby drink?
Christina: Well first I have to say that the best food for babies is breast milk. In the rare instance that a mother cannot nurse then a formula can be used. There is a lot of controversy around soy and the isoflavones that include phytoestrogen. Somehow it has been put out there that phytoestrogens are the same as estrogen - but they're not at all the same. Unlike estrogen phytoestrogens are plant-based. They just behave in the same manner as estrogen receptor cells which regulate levels of estrogen in a woman's body. That said the soy formula I have found to be the most natural - without simple sugars additives GMOs antiobiotics or other questionable ingredients - is Baby's Only Organic sweetened with brown rice syrup.
Susan: Soy-based formulas are the best option for a non-breast feeding baby. Human breast milk is unique and not mimicked by anything else in nature so grocery-store brands of soy rice cow's milk by themselves are not substitutes for formula.
Also macrobiotic counselor Warren Kramer recommends checking out this book about organic baby food.
Is soy bad for a pregnancy and while breastfeeding?
Christina: No. Even if a baby is shown to be sensitive to soy nothing seems to come through in the mother's milk so there is no worry. While the baby gets all the nutrients the mother consumers experts say that if a baby has food sensitivities that does not mean the mother can not enjoy the foods the baby is sensitive to. The baby gets the nutrients but usually does not show signs of distress from the sensitivity. And usually an infant's sensitivity to soy is not something they are born with; often the mother has one too. We say that the mom should eat normally and see if there is a negative reaction in her infant like excessive fussiness indigestion crying...it will not usually be severe. In fact studies have shown that mothers eating traditionally-produced organic soy like tofu tempeh shoyu and miso are more relaxed and as a result so are the babies.
Susan: Soy products are safe and may even have health advantages. In fact research has shown that the earlier people consume soy in life the greater the health advantages. So sharing your love of soy with your children may be a priceless gift. Soy is not essential but it does reduce cancer risk later in life. Additionally protein needs go up during pregnancy and lactation and soy is a great high-protein source. Emphasize whole soy foods such as miso tempeh tofu soy milk and of course the whole soy bean edamame.
Christina: People are freaked out by soy because they have been told to be freaked out. The truth is that traditional soy can help women with so many things from PMS to hot flashes associated with menopause; to reducing breast cancer risk; to reducing muscle tension in the legs. On the other hand any soy products with soy isolates or isolanted soy protein should be avoided because the way they're processed makes them unhealthy.
Are soy formulas safe? If so which one should a mother feed her baby?
Christina: Most soy formulas are loaded with sugar and are not made from organic soybeans so you could be getting GMOs pesticides herbicides antibiotics and other additives. Again the only one I have found to be free of all that jazz is Baby's Only Organic.
Susan: Yes soy formulas are safe. According to published research there does not seem to be any difference in outcome between babies who drank soy and cow's milk formulas. Dr. Spock himself felt soy formula did have advantages over cow's milk formula because of cow milk's link to various diseases such as type 1 diabetes lactose intolerance and dairy allergies.
In the 8th Edition of Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care it states "cow's milk itself … is not safe for infants. The protein and sugar mix is wrong and infants fed straight cow's milk are likely to become seriously ill."
How can a vegan pregnant woman increase her protein without going overboard on soy?
Susan: Don't sweat the protein issue. If you consume adequate calories your protein needs will be met. When you eat more calories during pregnancy you naturally consume more protein as well. It takes care of itself! Remember protein is found in whole grains beans peas nuts seeds and vegetables. Yes even broccoli gets 1/3 of its calories from protein!
Christina: There is no need to go crazy with protein because you're pregnant. There is protein in everything we eat except fruit. Women should get their protein from beans soy foods traditional again no isolated soy seitan and grains like quinoa and amaranth which contain the same levels of protein and structure as an egg and a daily serving of nuts. A vegan woman need not go nuts with soy to get what she needs. I usually recommend people eat tofu once a week and enjoy fermented soy more often: twice a week for tempeh daily for miso. Fermented soy is easy on digestion so people have fewer difficulties with it.
That covers your soy questions! In parts two and three we'll look at your questions about breastfeeding stretch marks Vitamin B-12 and much more!
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sanctuary spotlight: grass valleys animal place
Animal Place is a farm animal and dog sanctuary in Grass Valley California. This sanctuary is unique because it's in the heart of California's agriculture belt where countless dairy farms and other big ag operations dominate the landscape.
Animal Place is doing its part to take a stand against factory farming with a number of positive programs. Here are a few:
Fitting rescued lamb Carmen with a prosthetic leg
Music in the Meadow event
5-H campaign for "Humane Choices"
Food for Thought educational program encouraging veg diet and Veggie Club sharing yum vegan recipes
If you live in Northern California be sure to pay Animal Place a visit. You can also make a donation foster an animal or adopt here.
What's your favorite animal sanctuary?
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January 13, 2012
superhero recipe: roasted green beans with shallots
Here is a nice-looking superhero recipe for any time of year! I got this from Bita Hunt a macro chef/nutritionist in New York. I haven't tested it yet but it sounds super simple and yum!
Roasted Green Beans with Shallots
Ingredients
2 lbs. Green beans
1 Shallot finely chopped
2 tbsp Olive oil
Sea salt to taste
Steps
Preheat oven to 450F
Toss beans and shallots with oil
Arrange on foil lined baking sheet
Sprinkle with salt
Roast for 20-25 minutes or until beans are blistered and tender. Serve immediately.
What's your favorite way to eat green beans?
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January 12, 2012
facts about fluoride
Personally I try to avoid fluoride altogether - I got it out of my water and I don't buy toothpaste with it. I've heard all kinds of stories about why it's bad from studies linking it with cancer to the rumor that "fluoride makes you dumb." I'm sure that's a gross oversimplification of the health issues surrounding fluoride but it got me curious – exactly why is fluoride bad for us? I asked healthy home expert Mary Cordaro to shed some light on the subject.
Fluoride: A Quick Overview By Mary Cordaro
First fluoride is a huge topic worthy of a whole dissertation! I'll try to provide an overview of the broad issues for you here but if you'd like to get into the nitty gritty this summary of some of the research by Dr. Ted Spence D.D.S on Dr. Joseph Mercola's website is a good place to start. I include highlights from some of the research for you.
A Highly Controversial Substance
While industry paid scientists make claims about the benefits of fluoride independent research points to its potentially unhealthful effects. These effects are documented in scientific studies and they include increased cancer and tumor growth Waldbott/Yiamouyiannis increased arthritis disruption of the immune system and DNA repair Waldbott genetic damage Tsutsui et al and aging Yiamouyiannis.
Healthy Until Proven Unhealthy
Like all contaminants in our environment the burden of proof on whether or not fluoride is truly safe in our drinking water or dentistry products and materials should be placed on industry. This "Precautionary Approach" means that until it can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that fluoride is safe for everyone from the developing fetus to the elderly it should not be present in water or dental products and materials. The burden of proof in other words should be shifted from the public to industry and those who benefit financially from the pervasiveness of fluoride.
Unfortunately industry currently uses "risk analysis" based on the average adult male to determine if a substance is safe or not. This does not account for sensitive populations long term low-dose chronic exposure or the combination of fluoride with other substances. As a result fluoride like many other potentially harmful substances is considered safe until independent studies prove it to be harmful.
How To Avoid Fluoride
Until the burden of proof is switched to industry rather than the public it is important to avoid fluoride exposure in tap water and dental products. For tap water the most effective and safest method of removal is reverse osmosis. As for the idea that fluoride prevents tooth decay Dr. Mercola's associate Dr. Ted Spence suggests that good nutrition is a better strategy for maintaining the health of your pearly whites.
The takeaway here is it has not been proven that fluoride is NOT harmful and given all the data suggesting that it could be as well as experiences by doctors working with patients it's best to err on the side of caution.
References Waldbott George MD Fluoride: The Great Dilemma 1978 Coronado Press Lawrence KS Yaimouyiannis John Fluoride: The Aging Factor 1993 Health Action Press Delaware Sodium Fluoride-induced Morphological and Neoplastic Transformation Chromosome Aberrations Sister Chromatid Exchanges and Unscheduled DNA Synthesis in Cultured Syrian Hamster Embryo Cells Takeki Tsutsui Nobuko Suzuki and Manabu Ohmori Can Res 44:938-941 1984 March.
I'll be posting the rest of Mary's water filtration advice soon so stay tuned for more information on that topic! If you're looking for a good fluoride-free toothpaste check out my previous blog about superhero toothpastes.
What do you Kind Lifers think about fluoride? Do you try to avoid it in your water and dental products?
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The health section is proudly sponsored by Kaeng Raeng natural detox. Make sure to check out their 3 or 6 day vegan detox programs here:
im hatin it
Mercy for Animals recently completed an undercover investigation into a McDonald's egg supplier and their hidden cameras reveal rampant cruelty in two different facilities. Hens in tiny battery cages male chicks getting stuffed into plastic garbage bags and generally careless handling by workers at the facilities are just some examples of what goes on behind the scenes. I'll spare you all the details but you can read more and watch the video here.
Of course this isn't something McDonald's wants anyone to talk about or know about so it's up to us to speak out against the abuse. We can help by asking McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner to impose a 100 cage-free purchasing policy in the United States as he already has in Europe.
I've already signed a letter that MFA sent directly to Mr. Skinner. Here's how you can help:
Sign this petition
Embed the MFA video or share it on Facebook
Make a donation to Mercy For Animals
Stay committed to a kind diet
How else can we help others understand the truth about factory farming and fast food?
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