How I Stopped Drinking Water

While most people are making resolutions for 2014, my body decided to do something on its own for the last week of 2013.

I kinda.. stopped drinking water. I may have had no more than 2 cups during the past week..

And the reason is that I've been drinking my water through RAW FRUITS AND VEGETABLES! :)

How much water do you think is contained in this picture?

It's roughly about 90% of the weight in this image.

Bananas contain approximately 74% water, apples and tomatoes 84%, strawberries and spinach 92%, lettuce and cucumber 96%.. you get the idea.

So here's what I eat in one day:

2 cups of orange juice

2 bananas (that's 186 g of water or about a cup)

2 cups of strawberries (almost 1 & 3/4 cups of water)

A biiiig salad with carrots, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes - so if it's about 4 cups and 92% of it is water then let's say 3 & 3/4 cups of water)

So far so good right? It's already 8.5 cups of water. Of course, if I don't salt my food then it's even better and I don't feel thirsty at all. If I have soy sauce in my salads or sushi or wraps, I make up for the saltiness with lots of carrots and cucumbers -it works! And I'm not even trying. :)

Now, moving on with the second half of my day:

1 green juice, about 2 cups and it's mainly vegetables/low-fructose fruits, completely quenches my thirst and makes me feel full! (or another juice, or another 2 bananas)

After that, I could have a raw dessert (usually almonds, cocoa, dates) and I'm not thirsty.

Then I have a salad or wrap,  stir-fried vegetables, or even a soup (ok that's kinda cheating, but I have made soups without any added water, so it's more a puree of steamed vegetables).

And I'm still not thirsty!

So by now, that's about another 2 cups of water and let's say it stops here so I've had over 11 cups of water that day. It's more than enough, I still pee several times a day, my skin's not dry, and nothing else is. I also feel less bloated - water just has a bad effect on me!

There were days when I tried drinking filtered water and what happens?

I immediately pee it out. Or I wake up 3 times a night to go pee - it's not fun, especially in winter.

Now, maybe this waterlessness is a winter thing? But I typically juice more in the summer or eat more watery fruits, so hmm...

A couple of quick points I want to make:

1- Water was never drunk by the Ancient Egyptians - and while they still had bad health in some cases, they would drink juice, wine and beer instead - why? Because water wasn't clean back then! What?!

The Nile still had bacteria from dead animals and decaying matter, and honestly nothing has changed now. Our waters are dirty. Only we've made them even dirtier. And while we can filter out some things, there are some we can't (antibiotics, cocaine, hormones are found in water no matter how well it's been filtered). I don't want any of that! So that brings me to my second point:

2- Fruits, vegetables, and just plants in general filter water really well. Sometimes you still find traces of metals and they can be poisonous but I buy my food from organic farms or grow at home so really the risk isn't there. Plants filter the water in the root system, in the stems and the leaves - that's more advanced than any super tech expensive system we'll ever create. And that's also why they use plants in bioremediation of contaminated waters (something I study and love).

PLANTS PLANTS PLANTS! <3

Plant plants, please.

3- It's so much cheaper to drink CLEAN PLANT-FILTERED WATER FROM PLANTS! No need for filters, which create pollution (in their construction phase) and waste, and no need for water bottles that also pollute (plastic production) and contaminate us with plastic by-products that find their ways in the water and act as endocrine disruptors (they mess up with your hormones, for both men and women).

4- That leaves a lot more water to be abstracted for irrigation, and our hygienic needs (shower, laundry, dishes, etc). 

Some countries need it badly.

Vertical Bottle Tower Gardens

I've been working on making something similar to this:

And after making my own step-by-step instruction image, I found his... here

Bottle tower gardening: how to start ? (Willem Van Cotthem)

Kind of frustrating to work on something and then find out that someone has already done it!

 But our methods are different, my bottles are much lighter because I used styrofoam and less soil.

It all depends on what you're going to use it for, they can easily be adjusted for any purpose!

Here's what I did:

I then placed another empty bottle at the top, with the cap on - with only one small hole in it to let the water drip... I then did a permeability test and found that the lower bottle gets the first drop of water about a minute after I placed water in the top bottle. It takes about 10 seconds for water to travel through each bottle, but that depends on the type of soil used and the height of the soil...also, it might take more time -and more water- when the plant grows, so I'll need to repeat the test several weeks later! 

It flows! :)

Benefits of a Vegan Lifestyle

I wrote this as my final piece for my Vegetarian & Vegan Nutrition Consultant course, and although I do not support animal product consumption in any case, I am patient and will let my patients take the time they need to stop consuming cheese *cough*pus*cough* and other nasties -after all, it took me a couple of months too.


Being vegetarian or vegan is often more than just a dietary change, it is a lifestyle change. The vegetarian/vegan lifestyle is beneficial on many levels: health, fitness, ethics, and economics. The diet itself may vary a lot, for example between an ovo-lacto-vegetarian and a raw vegan, so it is sometimes difficult to draw conclusions from scientific studies. And although the reasons for adopting this diet largely differ from one person to another, the general response to this change is positive and inspiring. The diet is not necessarily synonymous with health, as it can be accompanied by plenty of coffee, alcohol, drugs and lack of exercise - however for this paper it is assumed that no harmful chemicals are consumed and a semi-active lifestyle is chosen. It has been estimated that vegetarians and vegan live longer than omnivores, and this is why:

By eliminating animal products from the diet, and assuming no intake of junk/processed foods, the body's alkalinity is more stabilised, and two main problems are solved; firstly, the kidneys have less work to do in terms of eliminating excess protein, and secondly, there is less calcium being depleted from the bones to neutralise the protein's acidity. Hence, there is a much lower risk of developing kidney stones and osteoporosis. This improvement is far more pronounced in vegans because cheese and milk still contribute to acidity and other problems. 
Another obstacle that can easily be overcome by adopting a vegetarian/vegan diet is weight gain and obesity. In fact, vegetarians weigh in average 3-20% less than meat-eaters, and have lower rates of obesity (Lanou & Svenson, 2010). Again, these figures are lower for vegans, as they do not consume any cholesterol from dairy products , and much less saturated fats than vegetarians; however it all depends on the individuals diet as many fruits can lower cholesterol. It is known that body weight is linked to diseases, particularly cancer (ibid) and arterial fat often leads to cardiovascular complications -however these are much more common for meat-eaters.
Regardless of the labelling, a vegetarian/vegan diet that is high in fibre and low in fat, protects from ageing and disease. As long as the diet consists largely of fruits and vegetables, all the nutrients in these (vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals) protect the body from a variety of diseases by supporting the immune system. In fact, disease often manifests itself in a weakened and toxified body - meaning one that is saturated in fats, bacteria and environmental toxins which are obtained through animal products. It is thus equally important to consume organic produce, as these toxins also include pesticides. Whilst meats have been linked to several types of cancers, particularly in the digestive system, a vegetarian diet reduces cancer risk by 10-12% (ibid). On the other hand, the vegan diet lowers prostate cancer risk in men, and female-specific cancers by 34%; this is because dairy products often contain hormones and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals (Freston, 2012). Furthermore, Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn four that a vegan diet alters over 500 genes which are responsible for disease prevention (ibid). A vegan diet can also reverse diseases like arthritis, diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular problems and even cancer (ibid; Physicians Committee, 2010). This has been illustrated by many doctors across the globe, for example Dr McDougall and Dr Cousens in the United States. 

It is also most likely that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables will give the person more energy, and that energy will be spent by partaking in daily fitness activity, particularly of medium-high intensity. In fact, many elderly vegans and vegetarians participate in rigorous sports competitions, for example Ruth Heidrich, a triathlete in her seventies, who also fought cancer by adopting a raw vegan diet! It is indeed very common to find vegan that run 10km daily, or commit to at least 1 hour of exercise every day - many even report having more energy since they have turned vegan.
In fact, another physical improvement that follows the dietary change is sexual performance. Needless to say, more energy will most likely result in more active and longer intercourse, but particularly for men: having no fats clogging the arteries means a harder and longer lasting erection (Mitchell, 2012). As for women, their reproductive system will also benefit from a vegetarian/vegan diet as menopause symptoms are much easier to cope with when there is no intake of animal products. Also, the breast milk quality improves on a plant-based diets as the ratio of 'good' versus 'bad' fats is increased, and the vegetarian/vegan woman often has more energy post-birth to handle her child. 
From a personal point of view, the dietary change allows for a lot of discovery and creativity, especially in the kitchen, and because it preaches the abundance of beneficial foods, one cannot feel like they are deprived of nutrients. In fact, vegetarians and vegans don't miss meat, and vegans don't miss cheese either - this is either due to a new found love in certain fruits or vegetables, or to meat and dairy substitutes like tofu, seitan, quorn, etc. So even for pregnant vegan women, they have many options to satisfy food cravings.

While many vegetarians/vegans report sleeping much better at night ever since giving up meat, this may have to do with having a clearer conscience -particularly for animal lovers. It is estimated that by eliminating meat form one's diet, a person can save up to 100 animals a year; and this figure is larger for vegans are they refrain from using any products that have been tested on animals, or that are made with animal-derived products, and they also refrain from wearing animal skins. 
Additionally, the environmental footprint of a vegetarian/vegan diet is substantially reduced because farmed animals and their food crops require land (through deforestation) but the animals also contribute to global warming through methane emissions. Meat production has a very high water demand, at least 5 times more than for grains and vegetables, and wastes resulting from farms often pollutes nearby soils and waters, which eventually interconnect at an international level. It can also be argued that the crops and smaller animals used to feed livestock contribute to more environmental problems like overfishing, and pollution through fertilisers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms. In fact, the the amount of food needed to produce 1 kg of meat can feed 12 persons, so a vegetarian/vegan diet can end world hunger. Moreover, animal products are quite often frozen for profit-making purposes and air freighting, both of which necessitates fuel, and lots of it. So not only is the environment being harmed, but the fuel prices go up and create economic turmoil. Lastly, meat is more expensive than fresh produce, and because its consumption is linked to cancer and diseases, a better health will result in very few medical bills. Hence it is more economical for both the entire population and the individual's wallet to stop consuming animal products. 

Whether a person chooses to stop consuming animal products for the sake of their health/fitness, the animals, the environment, or simply to save money it is almost inevitable that they will benefit all these areas. In addition to eating more healthy foods and preventing or curing diseases, a general positive response to the dietary change will definitely inspire others to do so. The lifestyle is based on a positive attitude, by feeling good inside and out thus it can only spread good. 

References:

Course Material

Freston, K, 2012. A Vegan Diet (Hugely) Against Cancer. Huffington Post. Available from: <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegan-diet-cancer_b_2250052.html>

Lanou, A & Svenson, B., 2010. Reduced Cancer Risk in Vegetarians: An Analysis of Recent Reports. Cancer Management and Research, 2011; 3: 1-8. Available from: <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3048091/>

Mitchell, L., 2012. 5 Reasons Why Vegans Have Better Sex. Available from: <http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5590/5-Reasons-Why-Vegans-Have-Better-Sex.html>

PhysiciansCommittee, 2010. Vegetarian Foods: Powerful for Health. Available from: <http://www.pcrm.org/search/?cid=248>

Poor, poor babies - apparently over 45 000 000 000 - yes that's 45 MILLION - turkeys have been slaughtered yesterday for people to say thank you.

Fruit Diet/ Banana Girl

  Every day I'm trying to eat as much RAW as possible, which is still quite hard because so many things taste good when cooked, especially in this country. Well not so many, but just a few and it's hard to let go. It is always is.

And although I try to follow a 80% raw diet some go all the way and you do see amazing results!

Firstly, the 80/10/10 diet means 80% fruits and vegetables, 10% protein (beans, peas, grains, seeds) and 10% fat (nuts, seeds).

This diet was adopted by several Olympic athletes, and because of the low-fat intake their fitness performance is maximised, but some go as far as 1% fat in their diet!

Here's a little excerpt from this article:

"The 80/10/10's calorie intake is broken down by the following: 90 to 97 per cent 'sweet and non-sweet fruit' and two to six per cent 'tender, leafy greens and celery'.

Zero to eight per cent is taken up by 'everything else' which includes other vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, plus fatty fruits, nuts and seeds.

Dr Graham said: 'You can generally accomplish this with two or three large fruit meals during the day plus a large salad in the evening.
Anyway
'Fruit predominates heavily, yet you consume as many greens as you like.'"


ANYWAY, so, this girl - the Banana Girl eats about 97% fruit and 3% leaves and fats (nuts and seeds).
And she can run 10km in under 47 minutes. Yep.
She eats more fruits than you ever thought someone would be able to. But guess what? She's doing great!

Adam and Eve only ate fruits... but that's a different story.

Fruits give you all the carbs and amino acids you need - here's a living proof:

Click here for her story.
Or watch this video. She's such an inspiration.. from someone who ate McDonalds and had a drug problem for 5 years to a sexy someone who eats an abundance of fruits and runs 12 km/h every day...

Now hear her rant about vegan criticism:

Why Go Vegan?

As part of my Nutrition Consultant course, I had to write an essay about why people become vegetarian or vegan. I was asked to write at least 500 words, but well.. I had so much to say so I struggled to keep it under 1400 :P


The vegetarian movement dates from thousands of years ago, but the kind of civilisation we live in exploits animals and the environment, thus putting our health at risk. Over the last few centuries, the awareness of animal welfare started to increase, particularly during the Renaissance but it only boomed recently, when the mass industrialisation of food began. Animals were treated worse, and given unnatural chemicals to then be slaughtered inhumanely. Also, the environment is being destroyed every day to accommodate and feed more livestock, but the industries also pollute the air, soil and water, leading to the destruction of certain ecosystems. However, I believe the most direct reason for people to convert to vegetarianism is the fact that eating animals and their by-products is damaging to their health. Meat-eating has been linked to a variety of diseases, and a wide variety of vegetarians and vegans report feeling much healthier with their new lifestyle.

The subject of animal welfare is a really big issue nowadays: animals are being treated with absolute cruelty, and in some countries, livestock animals are not considered like pets in regards to the legal system. These countries, mainly in the West, are the biggest producers of animal products, but on the other hand, the cow is holy in India, where most people are vegetarian or vegan. Either way, people across the globe are becoming more aware of what happens inside slaughterhouses and dairy factories, and for once the ugly truth is coming out of these sinful places. Luckily for the animals, documentaries and movies like Earthlings are gaining popularity and more people stop eating meat once they discover these atrocities. While most people just give up meat, as it is hard to completely stop eating all animal products by force of habit, vegans see the injustice to cows and calves of the dairy industry and stop consuming these products immediately. There are still some people who discriminate against certain species and not others, for example they would give up eating mammals and birds but still eat fish because they believe aquatic animals suffer differently when caught, although in fact they simply suffer in different ways, like being cooked alive. 

Another reason why people may give up animal products, regardless to the previously stated point, is for environmental conservation. Firstly, in order to raise cattle, a lot of space is needed -even more so for the 'free-range' farms. Then, more land must be deforested to grow crops to feed the animals, and these are usually grains, although cows should be eating grass. Unfortunately, the grains are often genetically modified, meaning they not only produce their own pesticides which are persistent in the environment, but they also end up in the consumer's body through animal fat. Some GMO crops have been even found beyond the boundaries of the farms on which they are grown, causing widespread death of insects like bees. Moreover, farm animals are one of the primary contributors of the greenhouse gas methane, which impacts global warming about 20 times more than carbon dioxide. According to the US EPA, agriculture is the primary source of methane emissions on a global scale. The problem does not stop here, as nearly 5 cubic meters of water are required to produce 1 kg of meat, whilst the same amount of vegetables and grains only requires 1 cubic meter of water. With the water quality problems and scarcity we are facing nowadays, eating meat is extremely unsustainable. The amount of energy (fuel) needed to produce meat is also quite substantial, not to mention the energy used for freezing and transporting it. Furthermore, animal farms usually have bad waste management, with animal manure ending up concentrated in nearby water bodies, leading to eutrophication and water quality deterioration -this is particularly the problem with the leather/fur industry. On the other hand, fishing has also become unsustainable. Not only does one third of all catch go to feeding livestock -who, I repeat, should be eating grass, but the amounts caught are depleting the oceans' reserves. One particular problem is the overfishing of tuna leading to increased numbers of jellyfish, but there is also considerable undesired by-catch like dolphins. Fish farming may be a solution, but these take up space on coasts, meaning they replace wetland habitats and create more pollution from wastes. For the fish to have enough space to swim, instead of being fattened and rendered immobile, more coastal habitats have to be destroyed. There is simply no environmentally sound way of capturing and killing animals for food and leisure.

The last and probably most important reason to give up meat is due to its effect on the human body. For a long time, many people believed animal products to be the only or best source of protein but that myth has been disproved by many scientists over the last century. Although animal products provide complete protein, they are acidic and lower the blood pH, so the body's natural response is to supply calcium from the bones in order to neutralise the blood. This stripping of calcium leads to osteoporosis or general low bone mass, even if dairy products still give some calcium. In fact, the animal protein must be broken down into amino acids for assimilation, so it makes no different if one eats plant-based whole foods and get the amino acids separately. Moreover, a study led by Dr Campbell form Cornell University called The China Study shed light on the link between animal products and cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Actually, a clear connection was evident and many doctors started seeing it too, and prescribing a vegan diet to their patients. It has even been shown that vegans have a higher bone mass than meat eaters, getting their calcium from vegetables and sesame seeds, and are at least 40% less likely of getting cancer. Casein is thought to be the main cause of cancer in humans, and since it constitutes 80% of cow's milk, vegetarians are still at risk - but it all depends on the amounts ingested. Yet nowadays, when consuming meat or dairy, one does not only get the protein: there are other chemicals in the food like growth hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and pathogens. Hormones and pesticides act as endocrine disruptors and can cause cancer, while antibiotics kill gut flora and weaken the immune system. Moreover, antibiotics get obsolete very fast, and studies have shown that many strains in bacteria found in animal products have grown resistant to them, such as salmonella. Furthermore, pathogens, like the Bird- and Swine-Flu viruses and those responsible for transmissible diseases like BSE, threaten the safety of animal product consumption. While some of these dangers may be avoided by buying organic animal products, these may be quite expensive especially in relation to plant-based foods. The price of meat is escalating in proportion to the price of fuel, so one can cut down their grocery shopping costs by 30%, simply by becoming a vegetarian, and even more so if going vegan.

The plant-based trend is encouragingly increasing, along with organic and grow-your-food movements. It is estimated that 2,000 people become vegetarian every day, as more vegetarian and vegan restaurants are opening up, and there are many meat substitutes like soy and all its by-products, veggie burgers, quorn, etc. More athletes are also abandoning animal protein, thus inspiring some of the big meat consumers that they do not need to let animals be tortured and killed in order for them to fulfil their fitness needs. Many inspirational vegetarian/vegan youtube users are blogging about the benefits of the lifestyle, and sharing great recipes, thus gaining a wider audience using social media. It seems that eating (organic or pesticide-free) plant-based foods is safer to the people and the environment, whilst saving billions of animals every year.

Vegan Seafood :)

This is what I consider SEAFOOD!

Seaweed is so good for you, it's all the goodness from the sea minus the fats and other toxins found in fish. It can be grown easily, without any harm to the environment (in fact it absorbs carbon dioxide!) and is known for cancer prevention and treatment.

Seaweed is good for:

Detox - it binds to toxins in your body and allows their elimination, these include lead and mercury.

Blood alkalisation - its alkalinity is one of the reasons why it prevents cancer

Your brain - it contains a sugar called fucose which improves the brain's ability to create long-term memories

Your immunity - fucose also kills bacteria and strengthens the immune system

Your thyroid - due to its high content in iodine

Your digestion - alginate strengthens gut mucus and slows down digestion, so you del fuller for longer and the food energy is released more slowly. It's low in calories and has a low glycemic index.

It is not only abundant in fibre but also contains vitamin A, B12, and C (more than oranges).

It is full of minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium

It is also high in protein (up 70% protein in Spirulina)

Plus, it's anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory.

EAT IT EAT IT EAT IT! :)

I just ordered some dried seaweed Amazon. You basically just place a handful, not more, in a bowl of water and watch it expand as it soaks it up. Then sprinkle some rice vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seeds… yum!

The Abundance in Nature

One of the most beautiful things in this world is a plant: 

It grows from sunlight and 'waste' in the soil, bearing so many fruits which upon their fall will deliver a multitude of seeds to the ground. Surely, not all the seeds germinate to become plants themselves, but the possibility is always there, and usually more than one succeeds. It may then be eaten by an animal or destroyed by climatic conditions, but there is still a multiplication of life and an abundance of second chances.

A plant gives you a fruit, and a fruit gives you one or more seeds. Only humans are smart enough to harvest those and do their best to make every seed suc/seed :) 

Just as long as we respect the laws of Nature regarding soil and water quality...

Here is a very inspiring video that really pushed me to order hundreds of seeds so I can start greening my balcony, and one day my city!

Rice-less Vegan Sushi

I decided to challenge myself again after yesterday's pizza: this time we made vegan sushi, and without rice!

All ingredients, even the rolling mat, were bought from Gourmet, but you can get them from anywhere else.

Here's what you need:

Maki rolls:
Nori sheets
Sweet potato (this is the rice substitute, you can just make sushi rice instead)
Carrots
Cucumber
Bell Peppers (all 3 colors were used here)
Leaves of your choice (we used lettuce, mint, basil)
Spring Onion - optional
Radish -optional

Sesame Oil

Sauce:
Soy Sauce
Wasabi

You can also add garlic or ginger, or both, to your sauce :)

  

First of all, boil or steam the sweet potatoes to save time. Then slice up all the veggies.

Once the potatoes are ready, peel and mash them.

Place your nori sheet shiny side down, and start applying a thin layer of sweet potato. You can cover the whole sheet or just one part, depends on how much you made. Then add the veggies in a nice order, try to make them fill as much space as possible while keeping them as flat as possible...

Roll roll roll...then slice it up and you get sushi! :D

We also tried making raw spring rolls with rice paper, and decided to cut it up like maki :)

Voilà! Bon appétit :)

FLOURLESS VEGAN PIZZA!

Vegetarians kinda have it easy, sure they don't eat meat and they can't really participate at barbecues (unless they've got bell peppers).. but unlike vegans, they get to enjoy pizza anytime anywhere!

As I have written about before, baby cows get taken away from their mothers soon after birth so that she can be (ab)used for milk/cheese production and the baby gets eaten a few weeks later. Not nice..

Thankfully for Asians, TOFU solves not only the protein problem (soy has all 8 essential amino acids) but it also has a consistency very similar to cheese! :)

So with a bit of herbs and olive oil... you can make it taste like any italian cheese!

We made this "ricotta cheese" yesterday:

And with a grain-based (my secret!) crust, we made pizzaaaaaa! :D

They were so good, but we put too much cheese :P It was so much fun making, it was actually the first time I make pizza! I highly recommend trying this, I think tofu cheese is much better than cashew cheese, but I'll have to try that too, very soon!

Reacting!

When I stopped eating meat and most dairy, I decided to have my last omelette right before turning 100% vegan. I felt so sick afterwards, as if I had eaten a rock and really regretted it.

Ever since, whenever I'd eat something cooked (like lentils or peas) I'd get that same feeling of heaviness. So I decided I'm going to switch to a 99% raw diet. It's more colourful, it's crunchy, it's alive!

But today..  I thought it would be okay to have cake. Gluten-free, low-fat, made with white beans and cocoa... and I feel HORRIBLE. My body is reacting to it so badly.. I hear the food travelling in my tummy, I'm bloated, I feel nauseous...

And I found out why! Wikipedia just saved my life (I hope):

"The toxic compound phytohaemagglutinin, a lectin, is present in many common bean varieties, but is especially concentrated in red kidney beans. White kidney beans contain about a third as much toxin as the red variety; broad beans (Vicia faba) contain 5 to 10% as much as red kidney beans.

Phytohaemagglutinin can be deactivated by boiling beans for ten minutes; the ten minutes at boiling point (100 °C (212 °F)) are sufficient to degrade the toxin, but not to cook the beans. For dry beans, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also recommends an initial soak of at least 5 hours in water which should then be discarded.

If the beans are cooked at a temperature below boiling (without a preliminary boil), as in a slow cooker, the toxic effect of haemagglutinin is increased: beans cooked at 80 °C (176 °F) are reported to be up to five times as toxic as raw beans. Outbreaks of poisoning have been associated with cooking kidney beans in slow cookers.

The primary symptoms of phytohaemagglutinin poisoning are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Onset is from one to three hours after consumption of improperly prepared beans, and symptoms typically resolve within a few hours. Consumption of as few as four or five raw, soaked kidney beans can cause symptoms.^"

^"Poisoning can be induced from as few as five raw beans, and symptoms occur within three hours, beginning with nausea, then vomiting, which can be severe and sustained (profuse), followed by diarrhea. Recovery occurs within four or five hours of onset, usually without the need for any medical intervention."

"PHA is known to be an insecticide, and plants probably developed it to keep their seeds from being destroyed by pests. In humans and other susceptible mammals (those of us without compound stomachs) PHA attacks and disables the epithelial cells lining the intestine. The body reacts to the threat by emptying the entire digestive tract as rapidly and completely as possible, to rid itself of the toxic substance"

BEWARE OF UNBOILED BEANS!!!!!!

The Shiny Things

This is little bullet-point rant because I can't make coherent sentences about things (mainly injustice) that anger me so much.

- I was reading an article yesterday about this guy who's been living without money, and he so perfectly stated that "The degrees of separation between the consumer and the consumed have increased so much that it now means we’re completely unaware of the levels of destruction and suffering embodied in the ‘stuff’ we buy."

Full article here.

- And then this pops up on my newsfeed:

"Congo is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country and one of its richest on paper, with an embarrassment of diamonds, gold, cobalt, copper, tin, tantalum, you name it—trillions’ worth of natural resources. But because of never ending war, it is one of the poorest and most traumatized nations in the world. It doesn’t make any sense, until you understand that militia-controlled mines in eastern Congo have been feeding raw materials into the world’s biggest electronics and jewelry companies and at the same time feeding chaos. Turns out your laptop—or camera or gaming system or gold necklace—may have a smidgen of Congo’s pain somewhere in it."

Full article here.

- This is only the extraction of raw materials. Then what happens when the consumer gets bored/wants a new toy?
 It goes to countries like Ghana, India or China where they're just left to rot in a bath of toxins:

"Some of the samples contained toxic metals including lead in quantities as much as one hundred times above background levels. Other chemicals such as phthalates, some of which are known to interfere with sexual reproduction, were found in most of the samples tested. One sample also contained a high level of chlorinated dioxins, known to promote cancer."    Read more here.

- Mining is such a disgusting business. Most of it is illegal, with children being employed, health and safety measures not respected, not environmental management... etc. It's also one of the most dangerous "professions" with an annual average of 50 deaths. For a job!? That's not right. Your job should not be a death threat, your job should not be unsafe at all, on the contrary, it should be pleasant yet demanding.

- So even if you're vegan, there is most likely going to be blood on your hands. Every item we own seems to involve slavery, in one form or another. You can stop it, you just need to stop buying and start making! and I mean making using locally (preferably personally) sourced raw materials like clay, sand, maybe glass, bamboo, cotton, etc.

Here's a cool (but sad) survey that tells you what your 'slavery footprint' is:

http://slaveryfootprint.org/survey/

I can't support our industries anymore... only organic farms, and I mean it.

 I am ashamed to own so many things that were produced exploiting people and the planet so much, but I'm scared of throwing them (well there are e-waste recyclers, but I want to do art with waste) and I just never want to buy anything again unless it's made of plant cells, and only plant cells!

- On the bright side, check this out:

We need more people like him :)
 Inhabitat article here.

And here are some amazing examples of art made of waste:

Nick Gentry made this stunning portrait using disks; I saw it in person at Opera gallery in London

Susan Stockwell's World map using motherboards:

Leonardo Ulian's mandala:

And to conclude, one of Brenda Gruyton's sculptures, but there are so many great artworks out there:

So please recycle your e-waste, there's always a company that specialises in this somewhere because they DO make money out of it! There is valuable gold and platinum and copper in circuit boards, lots of copper in wires and these ca be recycled and resold! There are even environmentally safe ways of retrieving them.. using bacteria!

The Sitting Disease

It really surprises how we went from nomadic tribes, travelling all year round, to a sedentary mass, sitting on a chair, in the midst of a concrete jungle.

If it weren't for gypsies, the 100+ uncontacted tribes left and passionate travellers in this world, I would've lost hope.

Thank you TripAdvisor, and thank you Couchsurfing!!

It is estimated that 30% of American adults are inactive, meaning they walk less than 30 minutes/day. The problem doesn't end here, children are also very affected by our 'modern lifestyle'. Parents have replaced "Go outside and play" with "Go watch TV". TV?!! With the amount of sugars kids are fed, the last thing they should be doing is sit there and watch TV! Kids are meant to play, run and come back to bed exhausted! With the amount of sugar they ingest (white bread, sweets, candy, fried foods, soda, etc) they develop hyperactivity, they can't sit still - yet parents would rather have them sitting 'calmly' watching... OK enough complaining.

Here are some facts:


"Researchers found that the least active, essentially those who sit all day, had a:

147-per-cent increased risk of heart attack or stroke;

112-per-cent increase in the risk of developing diabetes;

90-per-cent greater risk of dying from a cardiac event;

49-per-cent greater risk of premature mortality."

This is not okay. It's not okay to just SIT, when you have gardens, lakes, rivers, beaches, farms, mountains, hills...

It's ironic how people became more sedentary after the invention of mechanical transportation! Well maybe it's not ironic, given that we just SIT on airplanes. Imagine a gym plane - fun! Imagine you had to pedal to keep the plane flying, that would be awesome.

The study I quoted earlier also mentioned the following:

"Activity really matters – to your heart, to your brain, to your bones and to your sexual health.

It’s important too to recognize what activity means. It’s about moving. You don’t have to run a marathon every day to derive health benefits.

Ideally, you should be moderately active – the equivalent of a brisk walk – 30 to 60 minutes a day, every day.

Very few people are meeting that minimal standard. According to Statistics Canada, only 15 per cent of adults and 7 per cent of children meet the minimum recommended physical activity guidelines every day. Those are the most active people in modern society, and they’re not that active.

Exercising like a maniac for an hour a day isn’t going to offset 23 hours of being sedentary. But breaking up your sitting with activity, even very light activity, can have a significant impact."

It seems like third world/developing countries have it better: they can't afford to be sedentary! Manual labour requires energy and so does walking to the nearest well (sure it must suck to have to walk to get potable water, but hey at least you're walking). But I guess even here in Egypt, where people are somewhat lazy, you see that strong contrast among social classes: the rich that sit in their offices or homes all day, and their housekeepers that don't sit for a second. The construction manager that spends most of his time in his air-conditioned office, and the poor workers that lay bricks and put their lives at risk at least 10 hours a day...you get the picture. 

"Manual tasks in the home have also largely disappeared. We vacuum instead of sweep; we have dishwashers instead of washing dishes by hand; we have tractors to cut the lawn. And so on.

Almost all our transport is now by car. Fewer than 10 per cent of people walk or take public transport to work. The same is true of kids – 90 per cent are transported to school; they don’t walk or bike."

I stopped taking the elevator (unless I'm carrying something heavy, or I'm really tired). I used to go up 10 floors at my previous job, and it was the best part of my day. Elevators are such a waste of energy for the Earth, and exactly the opposite for us.

I hope this inspires you, cause it's the only thing that keeps me going :) Check these out!!

How I Paid For 12 Years of Continuous Travel

How I Can Afford My Life of Constant Travel

Slow Poison

Poisons are not what they used to be.

Back in the day, people would use poison for immediate deaths. For example, infusions of poisonous flowers like aconite, arrows dipped in belladonna or smothered in poison dart frog secretions.. you get the idea.

Now, poisons are very slow, often invisible, inodorous, and tasteless. Which is actually the most dangerous thing about them:

YOU CAN'T FEEL OR NOTICE THEM

Examples include pesticides, herbicides, petroleum-derivatives (PAHs, PCBs) and metals.

But the fact that they're slow-acting makes it more problematic, at least in the social sense:

PEOPLE DON'T CARE IF THEY SURVIVE.

For example, cadmium poisoning. Cadmium is a heavy metal that ends up in groundwater, freshwater, or even seawater, usually from industrial waste water and ends up in the water we drink or the food we eat (through agricultural irrigation). So after long frequent exposure, it causes cancer. The same goes for pesticides, and other toxins that we get through animal fat, due to bio-magnification across the food chain.

But cancer creeps up on you.

It takes its time. And what do people do when they discover they have cancer? Chemo, if they can afford it, which does nothing but destroy the body even more. Or surgery to remove the tumour, so it's all about cut cut cut, stitch stitch stitch. Sure, some people have overcome cancer. They usually are the ones that change their lives completely, drink fruit/veg juices, take natural supplements, etc. Others were lucky to be resilient enough, but their success stories should not still encourage people to continue eating pesticide-ful foods, and consume animal products, or drink from plastic bottles (most contain BPA, a compound that mimics oestrogen in the body and causes hormone disruption thus cancer).

Another example is aluminium. It's in our kitchen foil paper, our medicine boxes, our cans, etc. It's also present in most cosmetics, particularly sunblock. And guess what? Causes Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other nervous diseases. You don't need those products. You only buy them because industries convince you that it's so convenient, but how convenient is it to extract metals from the ground so you can store food in them?!

The list goes on, what we have taken out of this Earth and transformed is most likely to kill us slowly.

We created poison and we created the semi-cure. We created the chemicals, and then we built hospitals.

[I dare one of you to tell me that hospitals are cheerful green spaces that serve yummy food]

Our society has become a sculpture made of poisons, barely pleasing to the human eye, yet convincing people that they will survive.

The question is, do you want to survive, or do you want to live?

Vegan Profile *4*

I met Marthe the first week I moved to London, and I was immediately impressed by how smart she is! I only discovered recently that she's been vegetarian/vegan for a long time, although I think the day I tried to make her an egyptian meal (and failed) she had probably told me!

How long have you been vegan for? I've been 13 years vegetarian, of which 6 years vegan. I became dissatisfied with my eating meat when I cycled to school at the age of 15 and saw a big truck with live pigs in, on their way to the abattoir. They were clearly distressed. The vegetarian friend who cycled next to me saw my shock and bluntly said: "they'll be on your plate tonight" and I realised she was right.

In one sentence, why did you go vegan? The decisive factor for me were animal welfare considerations, but the considerable benefits for the environment, world food distribution and health are also important to me.

What improved in your lifestyle when you turned vegan? I lost weight, felt fitter and less tired, my nose and taste buds worked better, I taste the full flavours of vegetables now, the weight of killing sentient beings is no longer on my consciousness, I have a smaller footprint and don't eat more than my fair share of food, based on current crop production and number of people on this planet.

What's your favorite meal?  Pfff. So many. I believe I make the best soy burgers on this planet. That, served with a salad of puy-lentils, roast squash and beetroot, hazelnut, rocket and pear.

Anything else you would like to tell the world? If you're considering veganism or vegetarianism, two things will make it easier. Firstly: learn to cook a wide range of dishes. A good cook can make something nice from a few simple ingredients. Secondly: people will often feel criticised by your lifestyle, and respond by throwing fallacious arguments at you. You'll hear them a lot ("it's human nature to eat meat", "you'll miss nutrients", "your eating food that's meant for the cows", "you can't guarantee that you won't kill a fly", "what if plants can feel pain" etc.). Explain friendly why that argument is invalid, but try not to get annoyed. You don't owe anyone a justification for what you're eating, and neither do they. You won't convert anyone by preaching.

Vegan Profile *3*

Ilze is Zane's sister, she is a RAW vegan and I must say she has one hell of a physique! She lives in Australia, whereas Zane is still in Latvia, where they originate from. I think it's great to connect with vegans all over the world, the next couple of profiles will also cover new countries :)

How long have you been vegan for? I have been a vegetarian for over 12 years, and for the last year and a half I have been a raw vegan.

In one sentence, why did you go vegan? I am vegan for my health, for the animals and for the environment.

What improved in your lifestyle when you turned vegan? More radiant glow, improved health, increased fitness levels, clearer mindset.

What's your favorite meal?  I eat mostly raw. Green Juice is my ultimate beauty health secret, it consists of spinach, cucumber, kale, green apple, ginger, lemon, parsley. It gives me a natural high, increased energy, radiant glow and is a natures medicine. Meal - I love to make vegan raw sushi, very delicious, fresh and healthy and I use organic nori algae that has a high nutrition content.

[Pssst...remember my green juice recipe?]

Anything else you would like to tell the world? We've got an abundance of plant based foods that is a natural medicine, no longer we live in an ice age where we needed to eat animals to survive. The raw food diet especially has proven to cure cancers, whereas meat and dairy products, according to many scientific sources (eg. book China Study) contribute to illnesses. It's important to make more conscious choices for the health, animals and environment. It's a good feeling knowing that every day I choose to live consciously causing no harm to other living beings.

“Kindness and compassion towards all living things is a mark of a civilized society. Conversely, cruelty, whether it is directed against human beings or against animals, is not the exclusive province of any one culture or community of people. ” ― César Chávez

Vegan Profile *2*

Another vegan I had the pleasure of meeting recently is Mena. She is an animal lover that passionately volunteers for the Society for the Protection of Animal Rights in Egypt (SPARE). One truly inspiring girl, I hope she helps raise awareness in Egypt because with 85 million people, we're gonna need a lot!

How long have you been vegan for? I've been a vegetarian for most of my life. Vegan just a couple of months. 

In one sentence, why did you go vegan? When i visited dairy farms, egg farms and slaughter houses.. i decided, as an animal lover, i can not be a part of this monstrosity any longer. 

What improved in your lifestyle when you turned vegan? I am healthier and happier! I sleep with a clear conscience every night, knowing that there's no blood on my hands. 

What's your favorite meal? Pasta with red sauce and veggies. 

Anything else you would like to tell the world? I would like to tell the world that the holocaust never stopped, it just changed species. It's time we all wake up and fight this ignorance, this superiority complex in man and this speciesism.

Vegan Profile *1*

I thought it would be nice to have a little presentation on the vegans I know, for you to get inspired by these wonderful people and get to know a little bit about them!

I want to start with one of my oldest online friends, Zane. I have known this beautiful girl since I was 12 (back in 2005) and although we may have started talking because we were both into dark music and black clothes, we now talk about animal rights and health! :D

So here's Zane, and what she has to tell us about being a vegan.

How long have you been vegan for? Approximately for 6 years

In one sentence, why did you go vegan? For the animals and ethics/ morality.

What improved in your lifestyle when you turned vegan? My entire quality of life. Being a vegetarian or vegan isn't just about eating a certain way, it's a mindset which you inherit eventually. It affects how you perceive and react to external conditions. It makes you lead a better life and be a better person. You actually can make a change in the world.

What's your favorite meal? Veggie sushi, spring rolls, anything with olives.

Anything else you would like to tell the world? - 'You have to go on and be crazy. Craziness is like heaven' - Jimi Hendrix

She also has a blog! Check out this amazing recipe she came up with:

http://consciouscamel.blogspot.com/2013/03/summer-pineapple-salad-recipie.html

The "But Humans are Omnivores" Argument

I remember a few months ago, a friend posted this chart on Facebook, and I was all like "No that's stupid... it's invalid because humans cook meat". And then I realised that not only raw food is the way to go, but meat is the main cause for cardiovascular disease.. Anyway, we're the closest to herbivores in term of intestine length, facial bone and jaw structure, etc.. 

Here's the chart that says it all:

PS: Don't be ashamed to be a herbivore! The hippopotamus is the most dangerous of all herbivores in Africa; every year, hippos kill more people than lions, leopards and crocodiles. In fact, it is the mammal with the largest and mightiest jaws and longest canines, and can bite an adult crocodile in half. Other intimidating herbivores are elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, baboons..etc

Self defence! Love how the other hippos are just chillin' now that they caught the bad guy.