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    A New Look at Vegetarianism: Health & Spiritual Series
    A New Look at Vegetarianism: Health & Spiritual Series
    A New Look at Vegetarianism: Health & Spiritual Series
    Ebook167 pages1 hour

    A New Look at Vegetarianism: Health & Spiritual Series

    By Dr. Sukhraj S. Dhillon

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    About this ebook

    "A New Look at Vegetarianism" contains various aspects of plant-based, or meatless, diets. It provides not only economical, cultural, biological and evolutionary viewpoints of vegetarian diets but also modern perspectives on health promotion and disease prevention. Vegetarians in general and vegans in particular should be concerned about balanced nutrition. Their children may require special attention to raise a healthy vegetarian family.

    The material is presented succinctly, with good use of tables and pictures, and is referenced appropriately. In Chapter-1, vegetarian diets are classified as lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, or vegan, respectively, if they include dairy products, eggs, both dairy products and eggs, or no animal products at all. Lacto-ovo- or lacto-vegetarians, diets can be followed without much concern about nutrition even in growing children, whereas children who are vegans may require special attention and may have slower growth even if they are in good health. However, appropriately planned vegan or lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate. There is concern about the adequacy of vitamin B12 and D in vegans in general, but these needs can be met by food fortification. This book helps with all the concerns vegetarians have about balanced nutrition.

    In Chapter-4 health-promoting phytochemicals (beyond the traditional nutrients) provide information about the food and herbal sources that can be used against cancer, heart problems, and even to live-longer. Whether phytochemicals or otherwise, the book recommends that whole foods rather than juices and supplements be consumed for the best protection against disease or even irregularity.

    The discussion of vegetarian diets in relation to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines and disease-specific guidelines show overlap with vegetarian eating patterns. For heart disease, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer both of these recommend eating unrefined grains, fruits, and vegetables and the reduction of the intake of saturated fat and cholesterol (present in all animal products but not in plants). "The current dietary guidelines suggest that diets rich in plant foods with small or minimal amounts of animal foods may be the remedy for diseases related to modern life-style.'' Dietary guidelines for vegetarians could be developed with the aim of promoting the consumption of a wide variety and abundance of plant foods; primarily unrefined and minimally processed plant foods; optional dairy products, eggs, or both; and a generous amount of water and other fluids.

    There are historical references to "vegetarianism" as a religious practice in the East and John Harvey Kellogg in the West, a 20th-century Seventh-Day Adventist, who was trained as a physician and operated a Seventh-Day Adventist Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. He developed meat substitutes and other vegetarian health foods, including the breakfast cereals that have immortalized the family name worldwide.

    The book includes appendices: Quiz on myth and reality of vegetarianism, Nutritionally balanced vegetarian menus, and Vegetarian diet recipes.

    The overall impression the book leaves is that vegetarian diets are safe, palatable, healthy, and nutritionally sound.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOakwood Pub Co.
    Release dateJul 10, 2018
    ISBN9781482560916
    A New Look at Vegetarianism: Health & Spiritual Series
    Author

    Dr. Sukhraj S. Dhillon

    Dr. Sukhraj S. Dhillon, Yale-educated University Professor, has an advanced degree in life sciences and molecular biology from the west and a fascination with yoga, breathing, religion and spirituality from the east crafted out of studies at Yale University, U.S.A. and Punjab University, India. Therefore, he is uniquely qualified to present a synthesis of eastern and western approaches towards concept of Spirituality, God, science, and religion.  He has published over 12 books and 40 research papers, and has expressed his views in the news media and workshops.  He has been the President, Chairman of the board, and life-trustee of a non-profit religious organization and has expressed his views in the congregation and at international seminars. He is affluent in 4 languages. Most of his titles are now available from popular booksellers throughout the world.

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      Book preview

      A New Look at Vegetarianism - Dr. Sukhraj S. Dhillon

      Back to Contents

      INTRODUCTION

      When we look at eating patterns today, we can see diets that have been proven to work over centuries of experience, and diets which have been deliberately constructed over the past few years, based on fad, fancy, and many times experimental evidence. In nutrition, as in other areas of science, we find many different views. The reason, most often, is that particular information gained through scientific studies does not, and perhaps cannot, take into consideration all possible complications that may set in due to the inherently complex nature of biological systems. For example, at one time carbohydrates were recommended to help us burn fat. Now again carbohydrates are labeled to make us fat in Atkinson's diet. The high protein diet recommendations took us away from fruits and vegetables which, along with fiber, are actually necessary to maintain good health and proper weight.

      The recent suggestions to cut down on processed foods with high salt and sugar content and increased intake of fresh fruits and vegetables to achieve and maintain proper weight and good health, are not really new. On examining common eating practices in earlier societies we find that these had always been a part of their diet. Moreover, humans have biologically evolved with a diet which includes wholesome foods in their natural state, primarily of plant origin; these are just the kind of foods with fruits and vegetables that are associated with good health by recent findings.

      The consumption of excessive meat and processed foods leads to an unbalanced diet, since they contain a great excess of protein, yet are almost completely lacking in carbohydrates, fiber, calcium, and health-promoting vitamins, originally derived from the plant kingdom. However, these missing ingredients, essential parts of good nutrition, can be provided by fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, and dairy products. A wholesome vegetarian diet, in fact, can supply all of the nutrition necessary for the human body. Perhaps it is not surprising that vegetarians have enjoyed good health for centuries. There are several examples of long-lived people-the Hunzans of Pakistan, the Abkhasians of the Soviet Union, and the Vilcabambams of Ecuador-whose diets contain little animal foods. While many factors, including high levels of exercise and low levels of stress, undoubtedly contribute to the longevity of these people, their wholesome vegetarian diet is likely to be a very significant factor. The secret of their natural diet is now supported by the medical and scientific world that has recently realized, as stated above, the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the need for moderation in protein consumption to maintain good health.

      The influence of wholesome foods on our health goes even further. For instance, while methods of weight control range from fad diets to behavior modification, the final answer to getting thin and staying thin seems to lie in adopting a diet of wholesome foods. Widespread adoption of this approach could save the United States alone over 10 billion dollars, the sum spent annually on weight reduction efforts (According to data published by G.A. Bray. Recent Advances in Obesity Research, II. Newman Publishing, London. p. 248-265). Vast as it is, the 10 billion dollar figure does not even include the medical costs resulting from obesity related diseases.

      In view of rising medical care costs, Ex-U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Resources Richard Schweicker has noted that prevention and more rational approaches to diseases and aging are mandatory. Approximately 100,000 coronary by-passes are performed yearly at an average cost of $50,000 each ($5 billion) and 1,000 people in the U.S. alone die every day of cancer. Some of the heart operations can be avoided by putting patients on proper diet and exercise programs, as is already being realized by some of the heart specialists in the United States. Furthermore, the carotenoids and retinoids provided by certain vegetables (orange and yellow plant chemicals related to vitamin A) appear to offer important cancer prevention properties during the twenty-to-thirty-year lag phase in the development of human cancer, even after exposure has occurred. Japanese epidemiologists have shown that cigarette smokers who eat green and yellow vegetables have 30% less cancer, compared to appropriately matched controls who do not eat these retinoid-and carotenoid-containing vegetables. A prudent diet that is low in fats and high in fresh fruits and vegetables is desirable, as is control over disease-provoking habits such as smoking, alcoholism and obesity.

      A natural diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits can give sick people a new lease on life and save others from common diseases such as colon cancer and heart trouble. These foods can improve the vigor and vitality of those already in good health and contribute to their overall efficiency. We can go further and use these foods in prolonging life. In practicing the eating habits put forward in the pages of this guide, the reader, it is hoped, will be able to enjoy a long disease-free life, full of health and vigor.

      Back to Contents

      Chapter 1

      VEGETARIANISM AND WHY CONSIDER IT

      The most popular type of vegetarian diets are fruits and vegetables supplemented with dairy foods (and sometimes eggs and even fish). However, since vegetarian diets vary and are identified with certain standard terms, it is appropriate to define some of these here. The vegetarians who eat fruits and vegetables only are called VEGANS. The others who eat fruits, vegetables and dairy products are called LACTOVEGETARIANS, and those who eat eggs in addition to lactovegetarian foods are called LACTO-OVOVEGETARIANS. The healthy, vegetarian diet emphasized in this guide is probably close to that of lactovegetarians if they consume wholesome, unprocessed, unpreserved foods. For example, brown rice, not white; whole wheat, not refined flour; fresh, not canned vegetables; and fruits, not fruit juices. Eaten raw or cooked, these foods are low in fats, cholesterol, protein, and highly refined carbohydrates such as sugars. They are high in mostly unrefined carbohydrates such as starches. These foods are not only safe and healthy, but are ideal for maintaining a proper weight level-without any restrictions on food quantity.

      Many Americans are used to convenience foods, which may make the first step towards healthful vegetarian foods seem difficult. However, once that step is taken, and the food is tried and the rewards are understood, then the chances of adopting a vegetarian diet are good. The process can be a gradual one, with adoption of various ingredients of the diet taking place at whatever pace is comfortable.

      Wholesome plant foods are actually better suited to our bodies than are foods made popular by recent trends in eating. These natural foods are the basic foods which were available while our physiology evolved to its present complexity; these foods are in harmony with our digestive and metabolic machinery evolved over thousands of years.

      Why Adopt A Vegetarian Diet?

      Vegetarian foods provide an effective method of reducing the dangers of an over-rich diet; nutritionally, you have nothing to lose. Recognition of vegetarianism as a part of health and longevity is now spreading. The number of voluntary vegetarians in Europe and the USA is estimated at several million. Some are motivated by aesthetic or moral ideas; they deplore the killing of animals and some of the methods of raising them for food. Many become vegetarians for hygienic reasons, spurning meat as a cause of digestive problems and disease, and a source of unhealthy chemicals and infectious organisms. Others simply believe that a vegetarian diet is more healthy. The unprocessed vegetarian foods are low in fat and cholesterol but are high in starchy carbohydrates and fiber, and natural vitamins and minerals. The vegetable proteins can be as satisfying as meat protein. Proper combinations of vegetarian foods for good quality protein are explained in chapter 2.

      For centuries the hardiest, most long-lived people in the world have thrived on these foods. President Thomas Jefferson, who lived to be eighty-three, believed his longevity was due to his vegetarian menus. He wrote, I have lived temperately, eating little animal food, and not as an aliment, so much as a condiment for the vegetables which constitute my principal diet. Among other famous vegetarians were George Bernard Shaw, Leonardo da Vinci, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Benjamin Franklin, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Gloria Swanson, and Michael Jackson.

      My grand-mother who lived to be over 90 years of age never consumed meat, fish or eggs.  Her diet was wholesome grains, vegetables, some fruits and dairy products.  Even among dairy her main drink was butter milk.  She never went to a doctor or dentist.  She didn’t fall sick at the time of death.  She was found expired next morning.  She had most of her natural teeth at the time of death.  I am sure, genetics played a role but her eating habits cannot be ignored.  

      Vegetarian foods are not only healthy but are economical, so that even the poorest can afford them. Meat, on the other hand, is an expensive and inefficient nutrient. It is more efficient to use land for growing food for humans directly than for feeding animals which then are used as food. Table 1.1 shows how many people, for the same period, could be supported by 10 acres of land in terms of vegetarian proteins compared with meat proteins. A 1,000 lb. steer eats 5,250 lbs. of plant food in its lifetime. Its carcass weighs only 560 lb. and from this the consumer will be able to buy only 280 lbs. of prime cuts of its meat, quite a significant reduction in the amount of available food.

      In view of the world-wide population explosion, our protein must come more and more from non-meat sources. Highly populated countries, such as China and India, for centuries have used more vegetable protein than animal protein. Less populated countries are now beginning to face the same problem. In the future, vegetable protein foods, such as soybean products, are likely to become more important in our diet because they are cheaper to produce than animal protein

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