The Vegan Lifestyle

Junk foods are bad for our health. They are loaded with chemicals that are harmful to our body. They are mixed with food colors and preservatives too.

Almost all junk foods undergo a certain process. Most junk foods are deep-fried in hydrogenated vegetable oils. Vegetables oils that have undergone hydrogenation are harmful to the body. Hydrogenated vegetable oils are originally mono or polyunsaturated fatty acids that are artificially converted into a saturated fatty acid by the addition of hydrogen molecules to it. This process is called hydrogenation.

When hydrogenated vegetable oils are heated, they are converted into trans fatty acids. Trans fatty acids are very harmful to the body, and can cause cancer. That is why it is not safe to re-use frying oils that have been used already.

Junk foods are palatable and delicious. They are mixed with flavorings or food  enhancers to make it taste good. That is why most children and even adults like them very much. The most famous food enhancer is the monosodium glutamate or MSG. This is a free glutamic acid produced from hydrolyzed amino acids from proteins by the use of strong acids as catalysts. This substance is sold in the market with various brand names, the most common of which is Ajinomoto or Vetsin. MSG is very harmful to our body. It causes brain cancer and a host of other diseases. It penetrates the blood-brain barrier and affects the normal functioning of the hypothalamus. This organ of the endocrine system is the controlling center of all neuroendocrine regulation, sleep, wake cycles, emotional control, caloric intake regulation, immune system regulation, and the regulation of the autonomic nervous system. Please read my previous article “Dangers Of MSG” to know more about this.

This is the reason why people become obese, and wonder why they become so fat when in fact they often skip their breakfast and other meals in a day. This blood-brain barrier disruption can also cause hypertension, diabetes, strokes, brain tumors, lupus, brain infections, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

Other additives in junk foods are food colors, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives. All these chemicals are toxins that poison our body. Do you not wonder why junk foods remain fresh and crispy even after months or year in the shelves? Consider what harm they can do to your body.

Natural remedies for cardiovascular diseases have long been available to man, but still more are dying annually from it. Cardiovascular disease which includes heart attack, strokes and other disorders of the heart and blood vessels is a leading cause of death in affluent societies especially in the West. Heart disease is the number one killer in civilized nations.

What causes heart attack? The following can cause heart attacks:

• narrowed coronary arteries which deprive the heart of necessary oxygen resulting to tight, heavy chest pain usually felt after some exertion or heavy meal.
• blocked coronary arteries that restrict blood flow to the heart which cause the formation of infarcts (areas of local tissue decay or death in the myocardium , a heart muscle)
• spasm of the coronary arteries caused by lack of oxygen and nutrients
• high blood pressure or hypertension

Many factors can cause high blood pressure or hypertension. One is clogged arteries caused by the consumption of meat fats, hydrogenated vegetable oils, margarine, butter, grease, and other junk foods. Another cause is the hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis). Too much sodium or salt in the diet is another cause of hypertension. Other factors include stress, enzyme imbalance, nutritional deficiencies, kidney disease, adrenal or pituitary disorders, hyperthyroidism, heredity, and certain drugs, including oral contraceptives.

Besides heart attacks, heart failures can also occur in an unhealthy heart. Heart attack is inadequate blood flow to the heart, while heart failure is inadequate blood flow from the heart. The following problems can occur due to a heart failure: arrhythmia or irregular heart beat, palpitations, bradycardia (too slow beating of the heart), tachycardia (too fast beating of the heart when it is resting), ectopic beats or skipped beats of the heart, fibrillation or heart muscle twitching, and valvular disease or disease of the valve that causes non opening or non closing of the valves. These valve defects are either congenital or caused by rheumatic fever or endocartitis or infection of the heart muscle.

To prevent heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases, we must follow the following natural remedies:

1. Drink enough water, and frequently throughout the day.
2. Do not eat meat – all meats have fats.
3. Do not overeat.
4. Do not eat greasy and oily foods, such as margarine, butter, hydrogenated vegetable oil, overheated or oxydized vegetable oils.
5. Avoid excess carbohydrates in your diet, especially the refined ones.
6. Avoid sugar – it increases triglyceride levels, uric acid, blood pressure, and platelet adhesiveness.
7. Include garlic in your diet – it lowers the LDL (bad) cholesterol, and raises the HDL (good) cholesterol
8. Include natural fat emulsifiers, such as lecithin,  in your diet.
9. Use cold-presses vegetable oil, such as flaxseed oil. It is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that can prevent the stickiness of blood platelets.
10. Eat more fruits, grains, and vegetables – they are rich in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
11. Do not consume much peanuts. But when you do eat peanuts, do not remove its red skin. It contains a powerful heart-protective antioxidant  called oligomeric procyanidins or OPCs that can prevent heart attacks, strokes, and even cancer.
12. Do not use monosodium glutamate (MSG) in your diet. Avoid all processed foods – they are loaded with MSG.
13. Eat foods rich in the B vitamins, especially folic acid, B6, and B12. These vitamins help convert the amino acid homocysteine to two other amino acids which prevent the scarring of coronary arteries, thus minimizing the sticking of arterial plaques on it.
14. Take food rich in antioxidants, such as wheat germ oil, vitamin E, selenium, coenzyme Q10, rosemary, gingko biloba, and pycnogenol.
15. Take tonic herbs such as cayenne, ginger, garlic, hawthorn extract, and Seberian ginseng extract – they strengthen the heart.
16. Do not use much salt or other sodium products in your diet.
17. Do not use coffee – it blocks the breakdown of adrenaline which results in the same response as stress.
18. Do not drink liquor or any alcoholic drinks.
19. Do not smoke cigarettes or other tobacco products.
20. Do not use illegal drugs.
21. Have regular exercise.
22. Have a normal body weight – keep your weight down.