I had a good Thanksgiving. I didn’t gain any weight. In fact I may have lost a pound. Unfortunately I had to veer off my vegan diet occasionally, but I watched my portions so as not to overeat. One good thing about New Jersey (where we visited) besides being a blue state, is that they have a lot of diners there where you can get a good, nutritious, even vegetarian bowl of soup most of the time – lentil, split pea, etc. I also ate veggie burgers a few times during this trip, so that helped. And I took a bag of pistachio nuts with me to snack on at night. There’s a lot of news out there. I stayed on top of it during most of my trip, but I have some catching up to do now.

The National Institutes of Health recommend that pregnant and nursing mothers have 300 mg of omega-3 per day, almost four times what they get now. Omega-3s help babies develop healthy hearts, brains and eyes.

Also, here is an article on the role of omega-3 fatty acids in preventing depression in adults. A very interesting point: omega-6 fatty acids, which are so prevalent in the American diet – mainly in the cooking oils we use – can prevent the absorption of omega-3s. So, if you're taking omega-3s, you may want to cut out the french fries and junk food.

Most of you have probably already heard about this: a new study published in the November 15 issue of American Journal of Epidemiology says that dietary fat may not contribute to breast cancer risk in older women. I suggest you read the whole article and then make a decision about how much fat you want to allow into your diet, and what kind of fat. I personally don’t mind using olive oil, and I also don’t mind eating some nuts and seeds which contain fat. But I try to eliminate most other fat.

Apparently there were claims that sugar cane extract cuts cholesterol. Apparently those claims were not true.

Here is an article on the vegan diet. To me it is not as boring as some people seem to think it is. I admit that I do supplement, mainly with B vitamins. And I do admit that there are a lot of flavors that I do not get to experience anymore – mainly meat and dairy I suppose. But I think those are not good for me anyway, so I am happy to give them up. As a person who takes his health seriously I don’t get to taste the flavor of cigarettes anymore either, but they are not good for me, and I’m happy to give those up too. But diet, just like many other things, is not a one way street. I may not get to taste some things, but those who eat an American diet don’t get to taste a lot of things too. There is a lot of food out there that is good, as well as being good for you. Much Indian food, for example, is very good, and vegetarian. There are vegetarian dishes in many ethnic cuisines – Italian, Greek, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, etc. Those who are on a typical American diet don’t get to taste those, because they don’t give them a try. And I cook a lot of very tasty things that most people probably wouldn’t eat simply because they have been brainwashed by the major food companies to eat meat, meat, and more meat. I used to be a meat eater (McDonald's, Arby's, Hardees, Burger King, etc) but I gave vegetarian food a try, and I’m glad I did. More people need to eat more vegetables. It would be good for their health.



news, fat, weight loss, Thanksgiving, diet, food, vegetarian, health, vegan, vegetables, organic, omega-3, pregnancy, babies, depression, cancer, breast cancer, cholesterol,

NOW AVAILABLE

As reviewed by Miss Cellania, you now get four books in one volume, including, for the first time in print, The Tao of America. Click here for more information about this volume, including excerpts.

The Tao of Politics Anthology, now available as e-book (only $6.00), or as paperback.

Also check here for The Tao of Love. And for a good time, anytime, visit Miss Cellania online.