Responding to things I've been told concerning how I eat

Picture got from SecurityAffairs.co

Hey,

So, in this blogpost, I will be responding to the common questions and statements I've got from people concerning what I eat now. All these comments have come from meat-eaters so, if you're a meat eater, you may have wondered this and I'm here to clear it up.

Everyone who has asked me any of these questions or similar questions or made any of these statements has known me for a little over a year, at least. This means that they knew me as an anaemic person, as someone who had chronic headaches, who suffered from severe fatigue and pretty much was always sick.

Okay! So, I'll start my response now:

Question: "Don't all the fruits and vegetables you eat give you the shitz?"
Response: I'm guessing that when you said that she was referring to a running stomach or something along that line and, well, no, my eating more raw fruits and vegetables hasn't resulted in that. I have bowel movements daily that are perfectly normal and the idea of getting the waste products out of my system instead of harbouring them in my body for days or weeks sounds good to me.

Statement: "Eating so much fruits and vegetables is unhealthy!"
Response: We've been told many times to eat our fruits or eat our veggies because they're healthy so.....yeah. I believe that raw fruits and vegetables don't only make us feel good and full of energy, they are also nature's medicine. I have always loved fruits and eaten them whenever my mum bought some (although I didn't eat half as much as I eat now). I have been sick for most of my life. I do not remember a year that I haven't been in a hospital, sick bay or health centre. Ever since I began to eat more raw fruits and vegetables, I haven't been to any of those health institutions (if I can call all of them that), I haven't needed to as I haven't been sick or experienced any of the ailments I used to. So, yeah, my eating so much fruits and vegetables is most definitely not unhealthy. Do you know how amazing it feels to have spent most of your life being sick and to finally go almost a whole year without being sick? It's wonderful!

Statement: "You need to eat meat!"
Response: The day a butcher's daughter told me this. Oh me, oh my. All I had to say to her was, "I do not need to eat meat." Okay! So, as most of you know, I don't eat meat because I don't like it's taste. When I went vegetarian, I hadn't done any research on it. The word 'vegetarian' was just a label I found for people like me who did not eat meat (I think I found it on Wikipedia or something when I googled not eating meat). Okay! So, due to not doing my research on vegetarianism, I ended up becoming anaemic as I became iron-deficient. I'm not helping myself here, am I? You see, I was iron deficient till last summer. I had been taking iron pills for years, but now, I don't need them. I'm not anaemic anymore. Do I eat meats? No. I overcame anaemia through raw fruits and vegetables (and thanks to God :) ). Did you know that spinach has more iron than beef and chicken (and possibly many other meats) and kale has more iron than chicken and over half the amount of iron in beef? Yup! So, I overcame anaemia by increasing my intake in those. Also, vitamins, especially vitamin C (I think that's the one) aids in the absorption of iron into the blood stream. I eat a lot of fruits rich in vitamin C so.....yeah, my body is absorbing that iron! :) So, yeah, I don't need to eat meat. I'm doing perfectly fine not eating meat.

Statement: Vegetarianism (and veganism) is (are) not supported by the Bible
Response: I can't remember how that statement was made word for word, but here is my response to it:

• Genesis 1:29 - And God said, “See, I have given you ever herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”
• Genesis 2:9 - And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
• Genesis 2:16-17 - And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

It is not till after the flood that we ever read of God giving people permission to eat animals in the Bible: Genesis 9:1-4 "So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood."

Okay! To me, vegetarianism and veganism are supported here. Adam and Noah had about a 1100 years age difference. The time between the creation of the earth and the flood was like 1656 years. So....I take that to be over a thousand years of pure veganism in Biblical times.

Some people could argue that Noah and his family were given permission to eat animals because of the time it takes for fruit bearing trees to produce fruit, but I don't know if that's God's reason for giving them permission to eat the animals and I'm not going to get into that as it is not the point of my response.

So, yeah, I've responded to the common questions and statements now. Here's my question:

• Why is it that no one really cares if I go off rice or pasta, bread or milk (one of my cousins hates the taste of milk I should add), but there is such a big deal about me going off meat?
• Why do people make such provocative statements over things that they are not used to?

~Sammy

Letter to the People Against my Vegetarianism (and Raw Vegan Detox)

Picture gotten from Meammarketing

To who it may concern,

I have never been the healthiest of people like, I can not remember a year in my life that I hadn't been to a hospital or to a school clinic at least once because I wasn't feeling too well or because I was downright sick. I have never been much of an eater. I detest quite a number of things most people like to eat (because of their taste), but most of those things are actually not the best things for anyone to eat.

I went vegetarian 7 years ago due to not liking the taste of meats anymore (starting with beef). During the early stages of my vegetarian life, I became highly overweight and I became rather anaemic so I had to start depending on iron tablets on a daily basis.

You see, it wasn't my not eating meats that caused the anaemia or caused me to be rather sickly. Don't forget I had always gotten sick as a kid and had an immunity that was so low and as a kid, I was a meat eater so don't blame it on me not eating meats. I had those health issues during my early years of being a vegetarian because I wasn't informed on anything that had to do with vegetarianism. I cut out meats and didn't get the nutrients that people get from meats from other sources - plant based sources, to be specific. I started depending on things doctors could prescribe to me instead of things that were both clean and healthy and could cure whatever I was living with. I also was consuming a lot of the wrong things. For example, breakfast everyday consisted of dairy, most meals were cooked with unhealthy oils (or just a lot of oil), there weren't many vegetables around in the house (especially the ones I liked) and I didn't know much about clean eating (I was totally okay with eating things with artificial flavours and colours, et cetera).

Although I liked dairy products and I still eat a bit of cheese every now and then and ice cream once in a while or things with other dairy ingredients, I do not consume as much dairy now as I used to. Did you know that humans are the only animals who feel that they are to consume the milk of another animal? Cats and puppies aren't even meant to consume cow's milk like some of us have been made to believe. The more dairy products are consumed, the bigger a person is and that added weight is not the healthiest.

I have been asked countless times where I get my protein from and until this year, I never knew the full answer to that question. I always answered with just, "milk and eggs," because those were the only protein sources I knew (apart from nuts and seed which I'm not a fan of). I didn't realise that fruits and vegetables contained protein in them. Even now that I answer with, "milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables," people still have a problem with it and I get a lot of replies with things like, "fruits and vegetables do not have protein" and I'm sorry to say this, but the only reason anyone would reply with that is because the person is misinformed. The people who say that my body NEEDS meats and MUST have meats in order to be healthy are also misinformed because my body does not NEED meat. Whatever I can get from meats, I can get from plant-based sources which are healthier sources, in my opinion.

Since I went on my raw vegan detox, I have felt like I have more energy than before I was off it, I have felt more comfortable as I have not been bloated (even once) these past few days compared to being bloated ever so often eating vegetarian versions of whatever my family was eating, I've head headaches less often (I've only had a headache once which went once I lied to rest a bit because I had been working all day), et cetera. Despite the assumptions that I am not getting the nutrients I need, I know that I am getting them because I did my research on what I'm eating raw before I started eating them. Despite the assumptions that I am not eating heavy enough for my active lifestyle and to support my bones, muscles, et cetera, I know that I am because I endeavour to consume as many calories as possible a day and the backaches I had ever so often are not as bad and seldom occur. Despite the assumptions that my bones will not grow well, my brain will not develop properly and I will look sickly, I know that my bones will grow well, my brain will develop properly and I won't look sickly because I have seen people my age who have never eaten meats or animal products, who haven't even eaten cooked foods EVER and look amazing and healthy. I have seen a little boy named, Elvis who has been raw vegan his entire life (not even vegetarian or a vegan who eats cooked food) and he has never had to go to a hospital, he has never had the flu or a cold and he is one of the healthiest and happiest toddlers I have ever seen. He's also growing and developing excellently.

I was told a while ago that I do not need to detox because I only need to worry about toxins when I'm older. I'm sorry, but why do I need to worry at an age when I'm expected to be slower and less capable of doing things myself? Why do I have to wait till I'm older to care about my health when I can care about it now and live a healthier lifestyle? It doesn't make sense to me. I am living my life, I am happy, it's not like my vegetarianism or raw vegan detox is stopping me from living. It's actually making me feel much better because I don't feel sick on a daily basis anymore and I can think more clearly which is awesome.

Please don't forget that I was OVERWEIGHT, I WASN'T HAPPY, I pretty much HATED MY BODY, I WAS MADE FUN OF BECAUSE OF MY BODY and I GOT SICK MORE OFTEN before my lifestyle became healthier. If you truly care about me and my health, would you really want me to go back to that?

Before you judge me and condemn my lifestyle or my detox, inform yourself and don't just get informed by meat eaters or by people or institutions sponsored by the dairy industry or any industry that deals with animals. Don't just look for what is wrong with this or that. Inform yourself properly.

I am not saying that I am the most informed on this, but I know how I feel better than others do, even though I might not be able to put a name to things, I know what my body is going through better than others do. I know the pros and cons of what I do and how I live and there are actually way more pros than cons to it. I am still learning everyday, I am still becoming more informed everyday. So, do not just try to get yourself informed in one day, one week or just a couple of minutes or hours a day. Inform yourself properly. Read books, do your research online. You could even try going a week eating like I do or living like I do to see how you would feel. Inform yourself.

~Sammy

p.s Cancer and how many other diseases are affecting people at a faster rate. Look at trends and look at what the people affected by those have in common.

p.p.s My grandfather didn't live the healthiest of lives, he died young and he suffered till he died. I don't want to have to go through what he did. I choose to be healthier because it is what is best for me and best for my body.

p.p.p.s People do not just see me on the street and go, "oh that girl's unhealthy," or whatever, no one comments on that or on what I eat till they find out that I'm vegetarian and it's usually the Africans who have an issue with me not eating meats and I'm not picking on Africans, I'm just saying that it is in the African culture, it is normal for Africans to eat a lot of meat and they find it hard to let go of meats and create their own theories about the goodness of eating meats and why our bodies depend on them so, I'm saying, push culture aside and inform yourself before you judge or assume.

p.p.p.p.s Do the baby test - once a baby starts eating solid food, set in front of the baby, bowls containing fruits, vegetables and meat and have the baby pick what to eat him/herself. My hypothesis is that the baby will pick the plant-based items first, but my reasons for this would be explained in a whole different blog entry.