How could eating fast food make us sick and vulnerable to disease?

 

Click HERE to Find Out How You Can Build Muscle & Lose Fat By Eating Plants

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EATING PLANTS: MORE THAN WEIGHT LOSS

I recently ran across this article “Vegans Gone Viral: Young local couple turn heads with transformation,” that showcases a happy couple who made a life-changing journey together, one that I am familiar with myself:

When Andrew Scott lost a bunch of weight off his 5-foot-8, 230-pound body in two months in late 2012, the rumors and speculation swirled.

Was he sick? Was he taking drugs? What’s wrong with him?

But it was none of the above.

Earlier in the year, his girlfriend, Ashley Renee Chong, had researched ways to lose weight before her sister got married and pinpointed her approach: a raw vegan cleanse diet, which then led to a plant-based vegan diet.

How could eating fast food make us sick and vulnerable to disease?

And more importantly, how could this be legal? My assumption as a young man growing up was that food sold anywhere had to be nutritious and safe to eat, or else they wouldn’t be able to sell it…I assumed I was protected.

I grew up and learned that’s not how it works, but I think there’s a tendency to fall into the trap of following the masses, and assuming that if our neighbors and and respected colleagues are doing it, it has to be good, right? If you’re reading this, you know better, and the bottom line is that we are 100% responsible for our own lives, which includes arming ourselves with knowledge.

The article goes on:

“In all my research on health and nutrition, I kept hearing the same things over and over and it clicked. I knew I needed to try eating vegan,” says Chong, the American-born daughter of Jamaicans, her father being half Chinese and half African-American.

“At the time, the change was about losing weight, not being healthy.”

And it worked. The West Ashley High School graduate, who is now 23, has shed 130 pounds off her 5-foot-2 frame, going from 252 pounds to 119.

The article continues and talks about how eating plants and being a vegan or vegetarian improves how we feel, increases energy, and sharpens our minds.

Back in the day, I initially looked into eating more plants for these reasons, then I became aware of the severity of the mistreatment of animals and became even more committed to this path. Compassion towards all sentient beings is part of my path, but it doesn’t have to be yours. That’s the beauty of being a vegetarian, you can choose your own reasons for doing so… and there are plenty to choose from!

I like to reiterate this point:

You don’t have to be 100% vegetarian to get on board.

Every little bit counts towards your health and the health of our overall society. This doesn’t have to be an all or nothing deal.

And it’s not very compassionate to judge others if they don’t do exactly as we think they should, this creates contraction, not openness. It’s uninviting and straight-up ugly. More plants and more love please.

To explore further into the topic about how could eating fast food make us sick, watch this video - What Happens When You Stop Eating Fast Food for 7 Days

Author Bio:

Chris Willitts (creator of V3), is the founder and owner of Vegetarian Bodybuilding.

V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System is a mixture of science and author’s advice, providing users with optimal diet and exercise. This system is designed for vegans and vegetarians only.

A lot of research has been put in this program. Furthermore, a lot of professional bodybuilders and athletes tried and tested the program, praising its progressiveness and efficiency.

The program is about taking control of your own body and health according to your potential and needs. And worry not; you’ll get plenty of proteins with this system. It will boost you with energy, and you’ll feel just a strong as any carnivore would (perhaps even stronger, depending on how much you invest in your exercise). It avoids vitamins deficiency and provides you with a lot of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. 

Instead of saying things like “I think a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders,” the V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System claims “I know a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders, and I have results to prove it.”

To find out more, visit the website at V3 Bodybuilding – How could eating fast food make us sick and vulnerable to disease?

NUTRITION AND SEXUAL PERFORMANCE – Do vegetarians last longer in bed?

 

Click HERE to Find Out How You Can Build Muscle & Lose Fat By Eating Plants

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One rumor that I heard recently is that a vegetarian diet improves your sexual performance…so naturally, I had to look into this claim further.

It appears that some of this talk was sparked by PETA’s provocative ad campaigns over the last few years, which claim, among other things, that vegans and vegetarians have better sex. This has prompted many other popular publications, such as Men’s Health, to “investigate” the claims about improved sex drive.

Spoiler Alert: There’s not much evidence to directly link a vegetarian/vegan diet to being better in bed.

Through investigating these claims, I came up with three main findings.

First, many articles like to hide behind the elusive claims of non-cited “researchers.”

Second, there is very little research being published on diet and how it relates to sexual performance. If there is research being done it tends to relate to males and sperm motility rather than females (which goes in line with the gender and sexual discrimination our society is still fighting against).

Third, it isn’t a vegetarian diet, necessarily, but rather a heart-healthy lifestyle filled with vegetables and fruits that links to improved sexual performance.

1) The first two findings, don’t relate as much to the gist of this article, but are comments that I believe merit mentioning. For the first finding, I won’t say much other than providing this advice: try to be an inquisitive and informed reader. It’s disappointing to repeatedly read the words, “studies show,” or “according to this Journal,” only to find no link, no specific cited study, or no such evidence in the scientific world.

There may be no ill-intent by those writers but without sources, the information effectively is hear-say.

2) For the second finding, that very little research is being done in this area, it is time that our culture starts to look into issues related to sex from more than just a male perspective.

Sperm motility is not the only way to measure changes in sexual fertility or libido and the historically agent-male identity should not be the standard of measure. Until more research is done in this area from many sides, advertisers and individuals will continue to make unsubstantiated claims, knowing they won’t be investigated.

3) But the third finding, of healthy lifestyles relating to sexual performance, is where there is actually (maybe) some substance. Are vegetarians and vegans completely off-base by claiming that sex can be improved through vegetarianism? No. But the reason isn’t directly because of what they don’t eat. Rather, it’s about what they do eat and the lifestyles they tend to lead.

With most of the research out there being male-centric, unfortunately we start with a study that measured sperm viability and motility in regards to Vitamin C supplementation. The study had an extremely small sample size of only 13 subjects.

Though this study had major limitations with that sample size, there was an extremely significant finding that Vitamin C supplementation dramatically increased sperm viability and motility in men who were previously found to be infertile. This is in line with other scientific theories on Vitamin C.

So, if one were to extrapolate that to eating foods high in Vitamin C, you could improve your sexual reproductive capabilities as a male through eating more fruits and vegetables.

When it comes to sexual arousal and stamina, it’s all about blood flow.

Therefore, foods that facilitate blood flow and vascular relaxation could lead to better sex.

And this could be found with foods rich in one amino acid: L-arginine.

L-Arginine is a precursor that sets into motion nitric oxide synthesis, which promotes vascular relaxation. Foods such as oats and other whole grains, tend to be high in L-arginine. Still, there have not been many studies done directly relating to L-arginine to sexual arousal. Nor have there been studies directly measuring whole grain consumption and sexual performance.

There is a study showing that people with hypertension, though, tend to have less availability of L-arginine in their system, thereby leading to less nitric oxide production.  The factor of hypertension decreasing potential sexual ability adds another variable, heart health, to the mix.

A strong volume of research is out there on the effects cardiovascular disease can have on sexual activity. As mentioned above, it’s all about blood flow. If you don’t take care of your heart and cardiovascular system, you may end up being more disappointing (and disappointed) in bed.

And this is the key when it comes to dietary claims about sexual performance. Vegans and vegetarians tend to have better heart health, not only from avoiding meat and dairy (processed as we do here in the US), but, more significantly by consuming more fruits and vegetables high in vitamins and antioxidants.

One can consume meat and still take care of their heart given that they do so mindfully and take other measures to live healthy (eat fruit, exercise, etc.). It’s not the act of being vegan or vegetarian, it’s the act of taking care of your heart through being mindful of what you put in your body.

In summary, none of these studies directly suggests that a vegetarian or vegan diet is the key to sexual prowess. What studies do hint at though, if you squint your eyes and look really closely, is that a heart-healthy lifestyle should lead to better blood flow, better stamina, and maybe improved fertility. With that said, it is important to acknowledge that a lot of this is conjecture as little research is out there directly linking diet to sexual activity.

What about all those “superfoods” that are supposed to heighten sexual desire, fertility, and performance?

Chia seeds and maca powder are two of the most common ones. While many individuals report benefits from taking these, again, very little research has been done to explore them. Chia seeds are high in zinc, which has been linked to increasing male fertility. Maca powder is a Peruvian root said to increase mental clarity and improve libido.

But as with other such substances, any claims made by advertisers in the US do not have to be FDA approved. Most of the studies done with these substances are in animal models. Yes, the libido of male rats (again, males) tends to improve with these substances. But little to no studies have measured the impact in humans.

On the other hand, if we’re looking at animal models, you may as well go to a classic drosophila model too. And there we can find studies like this one linking high protein diets to increased fertility.

I’m not saying they don’t work, I’m just saying we don’t have much scientific evidence that they do. And if we’re going to use animal models to advocate for supplements and veganism, don’t ignore the other animal studies being done that show differing sexual enhancers, such as high protein consumption.

The moral of the story ends up the same. Live a healthy lifestyle and be mindful of eating a balanced, heart-healthy diet.

To get more understanding about the link between nutrition and sexual performance, watch this video - Could going vegan mean better sex? || STEVE HARVEY

Author Bio:

Chris Willitts (creator of V3), is the founder and owner of Vegetarian Bodybuilding.

V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System is a mixture of science and author’s advice, providing users with optimal diet and exercise. This system is designed for vegans and vegetarians only.

A lot of research has been put in this program. Furthermore, a lot of professional bodybuilders and athletes tried and tested the program, praising its progressiveness and efficiency.

The program is about taking control of your own body and health according to your potential and needs. And worry not; you’ll get plenty of proteins with this system. It will boost you with energy, and you’ll feel just a strong as any carnivore would (perhaps even stronger, depending on how much you invest in your exercise). It avoids vitamins deficiency and provides you with a lot of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. 

Instead of saying things like “I think a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders,” the V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System claims “I know a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders, and I have results to prove it.”

To find out more, visit the website at V3 Bodybuilding – NUTRITION AND SEXUAL PERFORMANCE