I was a vegan for 28 years. For those of you who may not be familiar with this term, a vegan is a person who eats a plant-based diet free from all animal products including milk, honey and eggs. True vegans do not use any animal products such as, leather, silk or wool. (I wasn't a true vegan as I found it very hard not to wear leather shoes!)
After my diagnosis, I wondered if the strict vegetarian diet I followed had anything to do with my illness. This concern was somewhat put to rest as I learned that many people who suffer from serious illness turn to vegetarianism.
A word to the wise, a vegetarian diet doesn't automatically equal a healthy diet. I always considered myself to be a very healthy eater because I was a vegan but, after consulting with a nutritionist, I realized that wasn't the case. My
Diet:
Mindful eating, nutritional awareness and energy balance.
My diet is very simple. I don't eat any processed foods, only organic and I make everything from scratch. I think one of the most important things I've learned is to rotate food. I used to mono eat (eating the same thing all the time). Now I rotate grains and vegetables for instance, I may eat brown rice on Monday, Quinoa on Tuesday and Amaranth on Wednesday. I eat green leafy vegetables and grains with every meal and also try to eat foods that are naturally anti-inflammatory, such as flaxseed, walnuts, pineapple and ginger. I also eat fish twice a week. Preparing
everything from scratch wasn't easy at first, however
I've found some tricks to make it a little easier.
- Chris and I plan our meals
for the week.
- We prepare and wash all veggies right
after we buy them so they're ready to go.
-
We
cook a big batch of brown rice in a rice cooker
-
We
use a slow cooker for some meals. It's very easy,
in the morning you throw in beans, rice or whatever
you want and eight hours latter you have a wonderful
healthy dinner.
-
We
keep nuts and fruit around to snack on.
In
addition to the changes to my diet, I've also changed
my daily water intake. In the past, I didn't drink enough
water so I've found it to be much easier to reach my
daily water intake by keeping a (50.7) bottle of Volvic
Natural spring water with me every day. By doing this,
it's easy for me to keep track of how much water I've
consumed and sometimes, I drink two bottles a day.
Consumer
Reports rates Volvic Natural Spring Water number one
in taste and it comes from one of the purest water sources.
My
Meals:
Cook once eat twice!
The
key to my diet is variety of whole foods. Whole food
is just what it sounds like it has one ingredient, itself.
It makes it simple.
 Whole
grains include: Brown Rice, Corn, Oats, Millet,
Quinoa, Spelt, and Amaranth. Whole grain products contain
protein, fiber calcium, iron and vitamins B & E.
Vegetables
and Fruit: I eat both raw and cooked everyday
and always organic. I try to eat what's in season and
I rotate them as well.
 Sea
Vegetables: Kombu, Hijiki and Nori are
a rich source of vitamins, A, B, C, E as well as calcium
and Iron. They're easy to use. I toast nori and crush
it into powder and use it as a condiment. I use hijiki
in scrambled tofu, and kombu is a must if you're cooking
beans. I put a strip of kombu in the slow cooker when
I'm cooking beans and it removes the gases from them.
After the beans are cooked you can remove the kombu
so the only thing remaining are all the vitamins and
minerals and great flavor.
Legumes,
Beans: As a vegetarian, Legumes are a very important
part of the diet. Before I got sick I didn't eat enough
of them. Beans are rich in protein and fiber and are
a complex carbohydrate, (that's the good kind). The
best part is that they're low in calories. I use most
of them, navy, kidney, pinto, garbanzo, black bean,
pea's, lentils, adzuki and soy. Having a slow cooker
is the only way to go. They were always so time consuming
before. Now I just throw them in the cooker in the morning
with a strip of Kombu and they're ready to be served
later that night for dinner.
Fish:
We eat fish twice a week. I use the Wildlife
Conservation Society - Seafood Awareness
card to make my choice of what fish we eat. I order most of our fish from Alaska, Ed's Kasilof Seafood. They have great wild Salmon.
 Nuts
and Seeds: I use them as condiment
and snacks; toasted or raw they're great either way.
Organic Food:
I've read all about the synthetic fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides that pollute food now a days, they are also producing genetically engineered food so I made a decision I didn't want to add any more pollutants to my body than I didn't have to, so I decided to eat only organic foods, real food. The term organic means farmer, farm like they did years ago. Organic farming is more hand weeding and thinning than the commercial farmer. The organic farmer uses natural fertilizers and pesticides rather than synthetic ones. Buying organic costs more but I think in the long run it's worth it.
Looking
Back:
I
understand how I became ill. Everything in my life was
out of balance, not just my diet. I consider myself
lucky that Polymyositis and Pulmonary Fibrosis is all
I got.
I've
changed my life in everyway and I feel the effects from
those changes. I can't tell you how much better I feel,
mentally and physically. I know I didn't get sick overnight,
and I know I'm not going to get healthy overnight either.
I take one day at a time and will continue to try to
improve my life in every way that I can.
Anemia:
On
top of everything else, I was diagnosed with Anemia
in October of 2003. Anemia occurs when the number of
red blood cells falls below normal and the body gets
less oxygen and therefore has less energy than it needs
to function properly. If it is not treated, it can lead
to potentially serious, even life-threatening complications.
The good news is, anemia can be treated and people may
regain their independence and go on to live healthier,
more productive lives. You can learn more about Anemia
by visiting Anemia.com or asking your doctor.
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