Vegetarian, Vegan and Raw Foods Explained

What to eat… vegan, vegetarian and raw foods explained

So much information is available today about what to eat. What is the healthiest diet? Vegan? Vegetarian? Raw food? Lots of meat? There are many different diets and diet plans available today but they are mostly based on either consuming animal products or non-animal products. This article will cover the basics of non-animal diets.

Vegetarian

What is a vegetarian diet?

A vegetarian diet is one where you eat no meat but still includes animal products such as dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc) but the focus is on plants. You can cook your food with this diet. This is a healthy way to eat and easier than the next two.

Vegan

How is a vegan diet different from vegetarian?

A vegan diet is one where you eat only non-animal products. This is a bit harder to do and requires a little more planning and education to have a balanced diet.

Raw Foods Diet

What is a raw foods diet?

A raw foods diet is one where you don’t cook anything that you eat. It is usually a vegan diet without the cooking. Some raw food enthusiasts accept raw fish into this diet but it is more common to see this as a vegan diet.

Let me ‘splain.. no there is too much. Let me sum up.

All of these diets are healthier than a meat based diet. There are those who claim that they need meat to survive… they are doing it wrong.

Watch this video >>> Why Deficient Raw Vegans Become Meat Eaters

The problem with a meat based diet is that the proteins in animal products grow cancers very well. Another issue is that commercial beef are fed corn and other food that they can’t digest. The meat industry does this to save money on the production and to make the cows fatter. The problem with this is that cows can’t properly digest corn and it makes them sick so the ranchers then feed them antibiotics which is then passed on to the consumer.

If you choose to eat beef please find local grass fed beef. Cows eat grass! That’s all they are designed to eat. It makes them happy healthy cows.

The vegetarian diet is better than the meat based diet but still contains animal proteins. According to the book by T. Colin Campbell entitled The China Study, the proteins found in cow’s milk grows cancer cells very well. This is something I don’t want to take place in my body and I don’t know anyone who wants to grow cancer cells. This same study found that plant proteins don’t grow cancer cells and have all the benefits for your body that animal protein has.

With the vegan diet you don’t get the animal protein and if you are not aware of eating a balanced diet you can become deficient in a few essential nutrients. Protein is a key element to staying healthy, however the meat and dairy industries want to you think that only animal products have protein in them. Their marketing campaigns are misleading, but that is the nature of marketing.

How much protein do you need? This is a different discussion and depends a lot on how active you are. The healthy range is from 8 percent for average people to 20 percent for extreme athletes. Here is a great article about protein requirements for different people.

The raw foods diet is even more difficult but many claim that it is the healthiest way to eat. The reason for this claim is that when you cook foods you lose some necessary nutrients. The most common guideline for a raw foods diet is to make it 80% raw. Some people can do 100% raw but that is rare. The reason for 80% is that some of the foods that give you the most and best protein need to be cooked such as legumes.

This is a basic outline of non-animal diets the vegan vegetarian and raw foods diets. The most important part of making your diet decision is to have a balanced diet with good quality food from trusted sources. We like to eat organic and local if possible. We would love to hear about your food choices. Please leave comments below and join us on Facebook.

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Happy Healthy Eating!