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6 Reasons to Consider Veganism

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Koya Webb
Below is a guest post by the ridiculously beautiful Koya Webb. I remember the first time I saw a picture of Koya Webb. The article was discussing healthy diets and promoting healthy lifestyles.  When I saw Koya’s picture, I thought, “Just give me what she’s having.”

I know you’ll put aside all preconceived opinions about veganism and read the article with an open mind. It’s only when we have ALL the facts that we can make the healthiest decisions in life.  ~ Joi

Unveiling the Vegan Lifestyle: 6 Points to Ponder

by Koya Webb

Dietary veganism—the practice of abstaining from eating animal products—is a lifestyle rife with mystery, myths and misconceptions, and is often erroneously regarded as a dietary regime for extremists.  In fact, amid copious health and wellness benefits, the vegan diet is far more mainstream today. This is exemplified by the number of vegan restaurants, and vegan dishes at traditional restaurants, increasing exponentially as well as the high profile personalities that have adopted a vegan diet.

Perhaps the vegan diet officially “arrived” when Oprah Winfrey went on a vegan diet for 21 days in 2008, and in 2011 asked her 378 production staff to do the same for one week, as well reported*. Reports also note that Former U.S. president Bill Clinton adopted a vegan diet in 2010 after cardiac surgery, while his daughter Chelsea was already a vegan. In November 2010 Bloomberg Businessweek stated that a growing number of American CEOs were becoming vegan, such as Steve Wynn, Mortimer Zuckerman, and Russell Simmons. A list of other notable vegans can be found on Wikipedia.

Here are 6 “vegan revelations” to provide fundamental key facts and clarify misconceptions about the vegan diet and lifestyle*:

 

  1. Vegan food is flavorful! Most people think a vegan diet means tasteless food and poorly-disguised fake meat. While in the past this may have been true, vegan recipes have evolved and today there is a wealth of vegan fare bursting with flavor, from barbecue classics and chili to lasagna and other Italian favorites that are prepared with a heightened health factor since fresh vegetables, fruits nuts and seeds are often key ingredients.  Spices, herbs, sauces, fresh ingredients and inspired culinary vision have made the modern vegan diet quite tasty!
  2. It’s a fruit feast. Those trying to reduce dietary sugar are reluctant to eat a lot of fruit, but the vegan diet allows for as much fruit as you desire. If you minimize or eliminate the consumption of complex carbohydrates like bread, rice and pasta, which all break down to sugar, you can add more fruit to your diet—also beneficial since fruit also contains fiber and enzymes that help you maintain and regular functioning system, while the starchy carb counterparts can clog you up and slow your metabolism.
  3. Meaty matters. It’s been shown that releasing meat from your diet—as vegans do—can protect you from many degenerative diseases. Meat quality remains an issue in the marketplace, while issues of toxicity, contamination and excessive hormones and chemicals abound. Even if you happen to eat the best quality meat products when dining at home, fast food and other restaurants are generally not as discriminating.
  4. Eco-friendly epicure. The vegan lifestyle causes less environmental damage and consumes fewer resources. Organizations such as PETA point out that animal agriculture is linked to climate change, water pollution, land degradation, a decline in biodiversity, and that a commercially available animal-based diet uses more land, water, and energy than a strictly vegetarian one, as cited on Wikipedia. With this in mind, a striking report out of the University of Chicago found that switching from the standard American diet to a plant-based one reduces more greenhouse emissions per person per year over switching from standard sedan like a Toyota Camry to a hybrid Toyota Prius, proving that what you choose to eat could do more to offset greenhouse gas emissions than what you choose to drive. So, if you want to reduce your carbon footprint go vegan…even for just 10 days.
  5. Go ahead and indulge!  The vegan lifestyle is not about deprivation.You can still enjoy favorite treats like ice cream, cheesecake, and many other desserts. Of course, as with any wellness regime, those with a sweet tooth must still heed the calorie and fat consumption.
  6. Body benefits abound. The vegan diet tends to be higher in dietary fiber, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, and phytochemicals, and lower in calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Eating vegan has proven to control allergies, PMS, and depression. This is helped, in part, by avoiding the hormones, antibiotics, and antidepressants among other chemicals found in meat products. The vegan lifestyle also promotes healthier hair, skin and nails since mineral absorption is optimized with an animal-free diet. And, it’s been well-reported that eating more fresh fruits and veggies reduces the risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, heart disease and other deadly conditions.

 

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegans
http://satyamag.com/feb07/eshel.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQDNTGYiSPg

Koya Webb
Koya Webb
Koya Webb is an internationally recognized holistic health and wellness expert, author, motivational speaker, and consultant who is helping revolutionize the vegan cuisine and holistic living landscape. Her book “Koya’s Kuisine: “Foods You Love That Love You Back!” helps individuals make positive lifestyle changes that maximize their ability to lose weight, increase energy, reverse life-threatening conditions, and experience optimal health and vitality through a fit, active lifestyle. Reach Koya online at www.koyawebb.com.

Find Vegan Books on Amazon!

Thursday Throwback: I Say What I Think!

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Autumn Trees

Occasionally on Thursdays, I post “Throwback” self help articles or book snippets from yesterday’s authors who I feel still have a lot to say. Some of the best self help, motivational, and inspirational books and articles were written before many of us were even born.The following article, written by stage and screen star Lilli Palmer, appeared in the book Words to Live By (1947). The title of the article is I Say What I Think and I’ve typed it in exactly as it appeared in the book.

My mother was born on the river Rhine, where people are gay and easygoing, where they drink much wine and don’t care who likes them. When I was a child I often heard from her a healthy warning, especially when I came crying that someone didn’t like me and demanding to know what I could do to make him or her like me.

“Everybody’s friend is everybody’s fool,” she would say serenely; or sometimes, “Many enemies mean much honor,” or “Where there’s much sun there’s much shadow.”

I have interpreted those ideas in my own way. I don’t set out to antagonize people, or to be aggressive or provocative, but I have never made a special concession just for the purpose of being liked. I’ve spoken my mind even when I knew that what I said might be unpopular, because I believe that to speak your mind is essential, to take part in a controversy is important. It has never been my nature to sit back and keep quiet for fear of treading on somebody’s toes.

The danger of being too sensitive to what others think is strongly illustrated in the play Death of a Salesman. The author makes an important cause of the demoralization of his hero the fact that he cared too much whether he was well liked. He was afraid ever to make an enemy, and this hastened his destruction.

My mother made me immune to that fear in early youth. You can’t go through life only making friends, I realized very soon.

If, for a good cause, you must make an enemy, accept the fact. As long as your conscience is clear, you will find that you have strengthened not only your determination but your character. – Lilli Palmer

The Link Between Creativity and Depression

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Below is a guest post by a very talented, award-winning author and teacher. I’d like to thank Diana Raab very much for including Self Help Daily on her blog book tour. We’re very honored to have her and thrilled to share her wisdom with you.

by Diana M. Raab, MFA, RN
http://www.dianaraab.com

Remember sadness is always temporary. This, too, shall pass. – Chuck T. Falcon

It has been said that creative persons, such as authors, artists, actors, musicians, performers and poets are more often plagued with the demon of depression. One of the reasons is that creative types tend to feel powerful emotions which could aid in their creative endeavors. If we examine the lives of accomplished artists, such as Vincent Van Gogh, Charles Darwin, Virginia Wolf, William Styron, Anne Sexton, Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath, we will observe that they all battled with depression at some point in their lives. If you’ve ever been depressed then you understand the sense of helplessness and numbness which accompanies this illness. Sometimes a sense of helplessness drives creative individuals to the drawing or writing pad, but other times, it can be immobilizing.

Approximately seven percent of the general population is affected by depression or bipolar disorder, and studies have shown that this number tends to be higher amongst creative types. Bipolar disorder is characterized by episodes of mania and major depression. Typically, someone who is manic depressive tends to swing from excessive highs (mania) to profound hopelessness (depression). In between these episodes, they typically they have periods of normal mood. Some people can also have mixed symptoms of both mania and depression at the same time, while others may have more moderate symptoms of mania.

In his book, Van Gogh Blues, Eric Maisel proclaims that virtually one hundred percent of creative people suffer from episodes of depression. He verifies this by saying that every creative person came out of the womb ready to interrogate life and determine for herself what life would mean, could mean, and should mean. He believes that depression in creative individuals is thought of as a crisis caused by chronic, persistent uneasiness, irritation, anger, and sadness about the facts of existence and life’s apparent lack of meaning. In fact, those who try to understand the reason for their own existence will most likely be more prone to depression. This theory refutes the belief that depression has genetic roots, and this would be a good subject for another article.

Kay Redfield Jamison, a foremost expert on bipolar disorder and someone who has also suffered from the disease since childhood, believes that most artistic geniuses are manic depressive. Jamison is also author of Touched With Fire and professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her book makes a powerful link between depression and creativity.

When a writer is depressed, he or she may turn to writing to ease the pain. The writing process can help the creative person make sense of their lives and helps to validate what they are feeling. Writing brings us face-to-face with reality. The act of moving the pen across the page or the fingers on the keyboard can be meditative and calming. Expressing your feelings helps to give meaning to your life, something which is helpful for us all to do!

About DIANA M. RAAB

Diana Raab is an award-winning writer and teacher specializing in personal writing and memoir. She is a guest blogger on numerous websites. She teaches at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and at various conferences around the country.

Her most recent memoir/self-help book is called, Healing With Words: A Writer’s Cancer Journey and has already received stellar reviews and she’s set up for many interviews.

Her memoir, Regina’s Closet: Finding My Grandmother’s Secret Journal (Beaufort Books, 2007)) won the 2008 National Indie Excellence Award for Memoir and the 2009 Mom’s Choice Award for Adult Nonfiction.

She’s editor of the anthology, Writers and Their Notebooks (University of South Carolina Press, January 2010).

She has three poetry collections: My Muse Undresses Me (2007), Dear Anaïs: My Life in Poems for You (2008), winner of The Reader Views Award and Allbooks Reviews Editor’s Choice and The Guilt Gene (2009).

She’s the recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Book award for best health and wellness book for her book, Getting Pregnant and Staying Pregnant: Overcoming Infertility and High Risk Pregnancy. It has been translated into French and Spanish. In 2009 the book was updated and released in its 20th anniversary edition, under the title, Your High Risk Pregnancy: A Practical and Supportive Guide in collaboration with Dr. Errol Norwitz of Yale School of Medicine.

For more information, please visit her website: http://www.dianaraab.com. and blog, http://www.dianaraab.com/blog.

7 Sound Reasons to Have a Mentor in Your Life

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Below is a guest post by Arina from Arina Nikitina.com. After Arina contacted me, I visited her site to have a look around. I always go to an About Page when I’m checking a new website or blog out for the first time – it feels like a handshake. When I saw the quote she had at the top of her about page, I knew we were going to get along brilliantly – not only is it one of my favorite, it’s pretty much my mantra: “If it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right.” (Bob Basso)

After reading her wonderful article, I hope you’ll visit her bright and beautiful blog. You can always tell her the coffee drinking animal lover sent you. She’ll know exactly who you mean. ~ Joi

7 Sound Reasons to Have a Mentor in Your Life

“Many receive advice, few profit by it.” – Publilius Syrus

For the longest time, just like many other people, I underestimated the importance of having a mentor. After all why look for a specific person, when you can always turn to your parents, friends, colleagues, multiple social networks and even public forums when you need advice and moral support. If like me, you, are wondering why anyone would need a mentor, here are some serious reasons for having one:

1.  Valuable experience.

As much as it boosts our ego to think that we are smart and we can “handle everything” and “figure it all out”, sooner or later we might face a problem bigger than we can handle. You would never think of using a trial and error method to neutralize a bomb. Neither would you try to fly a plane for the first time without an instructor. It might not sound very optimistic, but life is infinitely more complicated than plane flying or neutralizing a bomb. There are some situations when too much is at stake and guesswork is simply not an option. In this case a mentor could be the only person, who is knowledgeable and experienced enough to help you make the right decision and prepare you for the serious exam called everyday life.

2. Self-improvement.

It is not always easy to live according to our conscience. The line that separates “right” from “wrong” and “good” from “bad” is often blurred and it can be tempting to make a convenient choice instead of the right one (especially if our heart is telling us one thing and our mind another). A mentor is a person who with one simple question is able to clear your doubts and gently, but firmly push you in the right direction.

3. Encouragement.

We all have those days when everything seems to go wrong. We feel demotivated, tired, frustrated and alone. Good-intended remarks like “Cheer up!” or “It is going to be ok” accompanied with an affectionate pat on the shoulder may have the opposite effect, especially if there are coming from a person who has never been in our situation and has no idea what we are going through. A mentor, on the other hand, might not tell you that everything is going to be just wonderful, but somehow they still manage to reassure you and give you the necessary encouragement to keep on going forward.

4. Honesty.

Wise men of ancient times believed that a people can be qualified to give a good advice if they meet three conditions:
a. They should not be emotionally attached to you, because otherwise they will not be unbiased. Their emotions will interfere with their judgment.
b. They should not ask to be paid for their advice or depend on your income, otherwise they will be conditioned to tell you what you like to hear.
c. And finally, they should practice what they preach.
There are plenty of friends, coworkers, and neighbors who will readily give you advice, but only a few can overcome the impulse to tell you what they believe you WANT to hear and have enough wisdom and inner strength to tell you what you NEED to hear. A mentor is a rare person who can do this.

5. Better chances of success.

Basically there are two ways to gain wisdom in life – learn from your own mistakes or learn from the mistakes of other people. The first way is more painful and more time consuming. The second one requires a mentor who will share their experience with you and help you to avoid mistakes that you would otherwise make. There is no doubt that any failure holds a valuable lesson that in the future will help you to improve your performance. However, why fail more than it is necessary? If you want to achieve success faster and with less effort, finding a mentor might be your best option.

6. Greater motivation.

Most of us have a pretty clear idea about what we should do to improve our health and quality of life: exercise regularly, eat less fried and greasy foods, be more patient with our children, go to bed at a reasonable hour, yada yada yada… But for some unknown reason we do not do any of these things. Why? Because there is a huge difference between knowing something and really understanding it. We might know something for years, but one day out of nowhere it just makes sense. If you have ever had those “Aaaah…Now I get it!” moments, then you know exactly what I am talking about. A good mentor has the rare ability to explain to you what you need to do and why, in a way that makes sense. That is why an encounter with a mentor often becomes a turning point in many people’s life.

7. Less room for excuses.

Our ability to quickly come up with excuses and half-truths is basically a built-in self-defense mechanism that serves to protect our sense of self and ultimately our ego. Think about it… Excuses allow us to procrastinate, give up on our dreams, blame our failures on someone or something else, or avoid helping another person when we do not feel like it (and we can do it all without having to deal with such unpleasant feelings as guilt, fear and embarrassment). The only real problem with this excuse mechanism is that it holds us back and makes it impossible to succeed at anything. A real mentor will easily be able to see through your carefully fabricated stories and will not let you get away with them. Why? Because his main purpose is not to please your ego, but to bring out the best in you.

“A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” – Oprah Winfrey

The article above was written for Self Help Daily by Arina.  Please visit her Self Improvement blog.

Great stuff, Arina – thank you!

Thursday Throwback to 1923: How to Get What You Want in Life (Part 2)

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Continued from How to Get What You Want in Life Part 1

HOW TO MAKE YOUR DESIRES MATERIALIZE by Elsie Lincoln Benedict, 1923

A friend in Denver once told me she “wanted a new spring suit more than anything.”  We were walking down Sixteenth Street a few days later and there in a front window she saw the VERY suit she was looking for – for $35.  In the olden days$35 actually bought a suit good enough for anybody, you remember?

“How lovely,” I exclaimed, “and to think you have the $35 right in your purse.  Let’s go right in and get it before somebody else does!”

Would she?  No.  She had said she wanted that suit more than anything else in the world.  But she didn’t even want it as much as she wanted the $35.

She WISHED she had a new suit like this one, but what she really WANTED was the money.

“But what about the person who hasn’t the $35?” I hear you ask.  And the answer is you will find is the utter truth.  It is this:  You can GET it, honestly, legitimately, quickly, and surely, provided YOU WANT IT.

…Decide to restrict yourself because you “can’t get the money for things you want” and the money you do get will come that much harder.

But make up your mind to MAKE ALL THE MONEY YOU NEED for the things you want – and from the hour of reaching that decision you will make five dollars easier than you now make one.

The richer you become the easier it is to make money.  The less you have the more difficult it is to get more.

…. All successful men and women who are frank will admit that many good things followed in the wake of that first big effort, and followed almost without further effort.

“Nothing succeeds like success” is an old and true saying.  Another not so old but equally true is that nothing fails like failure.

The world always helps you along whichever way you are going.  If you are headed uphill it will help pull you up.  If you are headed downhill it will give you a push.  We should not complain of this, but awaken to the fact that it IS a law, and instead of fighting it put it to work for us.

If you want to go uphill you must manifest this to the people around you.  They are all driving along Lif’e’s Highway too, and they see you, think of you, and get an impression of you.

If you want to go down all you have to do is to let it be known and you will have plenty of kicks and company.

The world gets one of its deepest impressions of you FROM THE DIRECTION IN WHICH YOUR CAR IS MOVING.  Everything about you tells what that is.  Even children and those who catch a glimpse of you for only a moment sense this and act toward you accordingly.

You never deceive them very much of very long in any way. Bluffing and pretending do not deceive anyone.  These only make you resemble a man who tells you he is traveling north when at every corner possible he turns south.

All of life is a journey along the great Highway.  We are always coming to crossroads.  We always make our own choice.  We turn or go straight ahead – as WE CHOOSE.

We come to scores of these corners every day and the world notes the turns we make.  It will give you plenty of time to get to your destination in the North, and many a lift besides, provided at the crossroads you keep heading in that direction.

Another strange thing about it is that the higher up you get the MORE help the world gives you, and the lower down the harder it gets.

You can see it for yourself.  If you haven’t a cent and ask the world for a quarter to keep you from starving, it will not give it to you very quickly or very graciously.  It says it “cant’ encourage that kind of thing.” It is afraid you “might not deserve it.”

But if you are a millionaire, with more money than you know what to do with, people will gladly loan you millions…

To the big dinners the hungry are not invited.  The guests are those already overfed.

“This is all true,” you say, “but how is one to get started in the right direction?  Especially when, as you say, the whole world is busy helping us downgrade already?”

The answer is: Change the CAUSE and you also change the EFFECT.

Your present condition…  is the natural and inevitable outgrowth of the attitudes and feelings HARBORED in your subconscious mind.

Most people secretly cherish the delusion that this is not a law-ruled universe, and that somehow they will be able to get something for nothing.

Look again at the word “harbored,” for it reveals the crux of your situation.

All kinds of things come into your consciousness.  You can’t help seeing and hearing and even sometimes thinking these destructive things.

But you CAN refuse to HARBOR them.

The things that get down into your subconscious mind come out in your life.

But remember, nothing can get into your subconscious mind save as you dwell upon it and encourage it.

“But how can I start forward NOW, from this very spot?,” you ask.

To begin to go uphill in life instead of down…. it is only necessary that you TURN AROUND.  Other things will come later, but for today this will be enough…

To get anything you want, gently open your mind to the idea that you CAN get it, somewhere, somehow.  Do not dwell upon the things which just now seem to stand in the way of your getting it.

It is a law that two things cannot occupy the same place at the same time.  So, turning your attention toward the good thought drives the bad one out.  Soon this becomes a habit, and then out of your subconscious will comes the ideas of HOW to get what you want.