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!