Recipes for interstitial cystitis should really be followed seriously if you wanted to free yourself from the pain, discomfort, and depression of having this disease. You should follow a strict diet religiously when you have interstitial cystitis (IC). Your diet should consist of only almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, panachia seeds, pistachio nuts, hemp seeds, and pines nuts. You should avoid these foods such as alcohol, aspartame, bananas, avocados, cheese, spicy foods, carbonated drinks, chocolates, corned beef, coffee, grapes, guava, limes, citrus fruits, chicken livers, tea, onions, oranges, pineapple, sour cream, soy sauce, and tomatoes.

By following these, you will be experiencing less symptoms of IC, who knows? This may lead to a permanent cure once you will strictly follow the diet for IC. It may be hard at first, but you will get used to it for as long as you have a goal in mind that these foods will help you heal and not experience pain brought by IC.

Below is a list of recipes you can try for IC:

Vegetable and Salad Recipe

Since fruits are limited in your diet, why not try an all new vegetable dish? Make dishes with carrots, squash, broccoli, corn, mushrooms, bell peppers, fennel, potatoes, and other great tasting vegetables that are bladder friendly. Include potatoes when you are making soups, a salad, and even for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Try mixing a variety of vegetables that your taste buds will surely love. Opt for a dressing without tomatoes, citrus fruits, and vinegar, instead go for herbs and olive oil. There are unique lettuces available like radicco, butter head, diamond gem, and lamb leaf, you can add sunflower, almonds, and dried blueberries.

Meat Recipes

IC patients are still lucky enough because most of the meat is IC friendly. You will only have to avoid those that are preserved, smoked, or anything that contains nitrites (bologna hot dog). As much as possible, you should only buy fresh deli meats (without preservatives), try to source out organic or free-range meat, or from your trusted local butcher.

Fish and Seafood Recipes

These are great options for people with interstitial cystitis. Just be sure to wash them well to reduce any chemical that may have in contact with it. Great choices are bass, salmon, fresh tuna, swordfish, lobster, prawns, clams, squid, and some caviar. These are packed with a variety of nutrients and healthy oils. While preparing these meals, you may use herbs in replacement with lemon juice for a healthy recipe.

Pasta Recipes

Pastas that are from Italy are the best choice, and they are less expensive compared from other countries. Just don’t add tomatoes when preparing this meal. You can try cream and vegetable for the sauce instead, and for the ingredients, ginger, carrots, peas, chicken broth, lean meats, and sesame seeds are of the best choice.

Although, IC patients should follow a strict diet, you can be creative in trying some recipes that is good for you. Just use your imagination to make that perfect meal made for the gods and goddesses, after all, they are better tasting too.

The most common problem among kids today is poor nutrition when it comes to food intake. Since we are now in a modern economy, foods are now processed with preservatives. Manufacturers do this to prolong the life of their products. Processed foods are high in sugar, fat and salt that often gives illnesses or certain diseases. The most common negative effects of eating unhealthy lunch among kids nowadays are obesity, liver diseases, diabetes, poor school performance, and heart problems.

Poor Performance In School

Most of the time, when a kid does not get all of the nutrients he need, he often show a slow performance in school. They have poor progress when it comes to examination, and they also get tired on school activities. Those who do not eat a balanced diet often lack focus and concentration. A nutritious meal is the best thing to consider if we want the kids to have a healthy mind and body.

Heart Diseases

Food that is high in sodium can lead to stroke, high-blood pressure and certain heart diseases. Many schools today prepare lunch foods like packed food mixes, ketchup, potato chips, canned foods, pizza meat, hot dogs, some tortilla, French fries, salad dressings, flavored rice, white bread, processed cheese, ham, luncheon meats, and other food that has preservatives.

Obesity

Unhealthy food among kids also causes obesity. Processed foods are high in saturated fats and sugar. Some of the food that is high in fat includes French fries, fried chicken, processed cheese, hot dogs and pizza. Parents need to prepare packed lunch that is high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Since almost every one nowadays are extremely busy on their schedules, one can also order healthy plates from a lunch delivery restaurant just like Ogden lunch delivery.

Liver Disease

When we eat foods that are often processed, the body produces more insulin and it causes an elevated risk of having a fatty liver. The fat can be stored in the veins and the liver.

Diabetes

Corn syrup and fructose found in processed food can lead to diabetes. Many children today loves to eat sweet and processed ham or hotdogs.

Lack of Nutrients

Instead of giving the kids some processed foods for their lunch, require them to eat fruits, vegetables, fish, and plain rice. In addition, to their balanced diet, we need to make sure that they get a daily dose of vitamins and minerals from rich and healthy food.

Endomorph women are usually short with soft, round bodies. Blessed with thick arms and strong legs, endomorphs take to leg exercises like the squat naturally. Endomorph women who want to get an hourglass figure find their bodies difficult to enhance and maintain because they gain fat very easily.

Achieving an hourglass body is a matter of increasing metabolic rate. As the human body’s appearance is approximately 30% exercise and 70% diet, endomorph women must adhere to strict nutritional habits to control their weight. Every calorie must be carefully scrutinized to ensure it’s dense in nutrients that support their desire to maintain a banging body.

“From a metabolic perspective, the endomorph body type sometimes has varying degrees of carbohydrate sensitivity and insulin resistance,” says fitness expert Tom Venuto. “If someone is metabolically carbohydrate intolerant due to a genetic tendency, then high carbohydrate diets are not the preferred choice for fat loss goals as they stimulate excess secretion of insulin and glucose will be partitioned into the fat cells.”

To shed unnecessary weight, as an endomorph you must immediately cut processed and refined carbs from your diet – especially white sugars and flours. A baseline example of a moderate diet for your body type is 40 percent protein, 30 percent carbs, 30 percent fat. High protein intake is vital to an endomorph’s nutrition, so eating plans like the Primal Blueprint serve as ideal potential eating plans for endomorphs.

Nutritional compliance is key for endomorphs that want to get a small waist. While other body types can stray from their diets 20 percent of the time, expect to stick to your diet 90 percent of the time in order to achieve – and maintain – results.

What about fitness? How should an endomorph beauty train her body for results? Endomorph women with hourglass figures tend to find it easy to put on weight. Unfortunately, most of this weight is fat that has to be controlled through weight training and cardio exercise. Weight training with products such as kettlebells will supply a 2 in 1 cardio and exercise workout that not only burns calories during exercise (up to 1200 calories per hour), but transforms your body into a fat-burning furnace throughout the day. Another upside of kettlebells is that certain exercises with them, like swings and deadlifts, can help you build a bigger, perkier butt.

Getting an hourglass figure as an endomorph may feel impossible, however out of all the body types, you’ve probably got the strongest chance of getting and maintaining your Coke bottle once you achieve it. Many endomorphs have natural hourglass potential, and despite the stricter exercise and diet requirements, getting a smaller waist comes effortlessly once you maintain your lifestyle habits.

We all know that playing professional soccer requires a big commitment for both physical training and mentally. However, the same is to be said for a food commitment and eating well. How you eat will depend on your performance both on and off of the soccer field; plus before and after the match.

Below are some specialized soccer meals for a week. For professional soccer players.

Monday

• Breakfast: 1 cup powdered chocolate milk, breakfast cereals and a banana.
• Lunch: Spaghetti, Beef filet with potato and tomato, and fruit salad.
• Snack: Sandwich with ham and an orange juice.
• Dinner: Vegetable soup, omelet, rice, and apple pie.

Tuesday

• Breakfast: 1 cup powdered chocolate milk, Toasted bread with olive oil and tomato, and an orange juice.
• Lunch: Lentils Beans, bread crumb chicken fillet with mushrooms, and a yogurt with sugar.
• Snack: Peanut butter sandwich and a fruit juice.
• Dinner: Mixed salad, Salmon in sauce with fried potatoes, and strawberries with cream and sugar.

Wednesday

• Breakfast: 1 cup powdered chocolate milk, toast with butter and ham, and a fruit juice.
• Lunch: Rice with vegetables, pork loin steak undressed breaded with lettuce and a yogurt with sugar.
• Afternoon Snack: Cheese sub or sandwich and an orange juice.
• Dinner: Mixed vegetables with peas with ham, grilled hen with lettuce and corn, and a yogurt.

Thursday

• Breakfast: a glass of chocolate milk powder, biscuits with butter and jam, and an orange juice.
• Lunch: Cooked beans, Fried fish with lettuce and tomato, and Pineapple with honey
• Snack: Ham sandwich.
• Dinner: Mashed vegetables and grilled garlic & shrimp and plain yogurt with sugar.

Friday

• Breakfast: 1 cup powdered chocolate milk, Toasted bread with olive oil and tomato, and fruit salad.
• Lunch: salad from the garden, rice with squid in its ink, and a custard.
• Snack: Cottage cheese with honey and a banana.
• Dinner: Noodle soup, sea bass baked with roast potatoes and two kiwis.

Saturday

• Breakfast: 1 yogurt cereal, homemade biscuit, and a fresh orange juice.
• Lunch: Pasta a la carbonara, veal steak with fresh tomato and corn, and two tangerines.
• Snack: Sandwich with serrano ham with fresh tomato and a fruit juice.
• Dinner: vegetable soup, swordfish with mashed potatoes and a yoghurt with sugar.

Sunday

• Breakfast: 1 cup powdered chocolate milk, a croissant with jam and a fresh orange juice.
• Lunch: Fried eggplant, Roasted chicken with mixed salad, and an apple with cheese.
• Afternoon Snack: Egg Omelet (preferably yoak)
• Dinner: Cream of spinach soup, Baked chicken with roasted tomato and a natural yogurt with sugar.

A good night’s rest, in the form of a deep relaxing sleep, is essential to helping the body to recover from the stresses of the day and to prepare you for the rigors of tomorrow. If you engage in regular strenuous exercise, this sleep time is even more important, both to help your body recover and to help you perform at optimal levels during the exercise.

The physical stresses experienced during exercise deplete the body of protein, water and other essential nutrients. These can be recovered somewhat by consuming protein and ensuring proper hydration after each exercise routine. Exercise stress and emotional stress also increase the demand for certain hormones in the body. Chief among these is cortisol, which is released by the adrenal glands in response to stress.

Elevated cortisol levels are needed for immediate ‘flight-or-fight’ situations that can be resolved quickly, thereby allowing the body to relax and return to normal. Regular strenuous exercise, combined with modern stressful lifestyles, can keep cortisol levels raised far beyond what is required for an immediate threat. Cortisol pumps glucose into the body to help prepare the muscles to respond to stress situations. A consistently elevated level of cortisol raises blood sugar levels and can interfere with the immune system.

Managing and reducing stress is important to repairing the damage and resetting the balance of hormones in the body. A deep relaxing sleep helps the body to restore its hormonal balance, which allows the process of recovery to occur. In fact, the building of muscle, tissue and stamina that you hope to gain from exercise all takes place while you are asleep. The exercise depletes resources and the body restores them when we are at rest.

Depriving yourself of sleep also deprives your body of the vital time to repair and rebuild. The result can be lower performance. Repeated stressful exercise without recovery weakens the body over time. Studies show that sleep-deprived athletes have measurably lower muscle power. This effect is apparently increased for individuals who rose early, compared to those who went to bed late. Getting up at 4:30 AM might seem a fine time for training, but it may come at the expense of your performance and development.

Of course, good nutrition is also essential to good physical performance. Choose foods high in nutrient value and proteins that will supply the essential elements the body needs to repair and rebuild muscle and tissue. Good nutrition also helps to rebalance cortisol and other hormones. The combination of good nutrition and good sleep is the key to optimal performance, in exercise and in daily life.

Finally, drink plenty of water. If you exercise regularly, you need to stay hydrated and not only when you exercise. Caffeine is a natural diuretic, so drinking two large mugs of Seattle’s finest in the morning will set you up for dehydration at the time you need to exercise. Drinking water then won’t help to replenish the water you have already lost. The specific amount of water you need to drink each day depends on many variables, including your size and activity levels. Not drinking water regularly will increase the stress on your body.

Many people try to reduce abdominal fat with diet and exercise but have no luck. Dr Frank Ryan’s Abdominal Fat Reducer is formulated to reduce belly fat and keep it from coming back without the need for a special diet or exercise. A plastic surgeon from Hollywood named Dr. Frank Ryan developed this formula and it as shown to have amazing results.

Abdominal Fat is Hazardous to Your Health

Belly fat is the most stubborn fat of all and is almost impossible to eliminate or even reduce. Many people simply hate the way they look just because of a pot belly or extra weight around their midsection. Losing weight and doing cardio exercise is great for your health, but they do not specifically help you lose belly fat.

Men are at greater risk than women to put on extra weight in their midsection. Women usually store fat in their abdomen after menopause, because the body stops storing it in the hips, arms, and legs and starts storing it in the abdomen. This is due to the decrease of estrogen at menopause. There is some evidence that this decrease in estrogen encourages the production of cortisol, which in turn causes the storage of belly fat.

Other than looking bad, belly fat has serious health implications. Visceral fat is stored in the abdominal region and it is found between the internal organs. Some of the health implications are:

• Affects metabolic processes

• Higher risk of cardiovascular disease

• Can increase blood pressure

• May increase the risk of stroke

• Causes high level of triglycerides

• Causes low level of HDL, or good cholesterol

• Linked to breast cancer in women

• Association to some forms of cancer

• Affects insulin resistance which may lead to type 2 diabetes

• May lead to sleep apnea

How Dr Frank Ryan’s Abdominal Fat Reducer Works

Clinical studies have shown that Dr Franks Abdominal Fat Reducer can reduce belly fat without requiring a change in diet or exercise. Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) helps reduce abdominal fat by lowering the amount of fat that is stored in the abdomen, increasing the speed at which these fat cells in the abdomen are broken down, and increasing the speed at which belly fat is metabolized.

CLA and the other ingredients in Dr Frank Ryan’s Abdominal Fat Reducer actually keep abdominal fat cells from forming in the future. So it helps you lose belly fat and keeps it from coming back. The proprietary blend includes CLA, green tea extract, l-leucine, l-isoleucine, l-valine, phosphatidylserine, dandelion extract, and anhydrous caffeine.

Dr Frank Ryan’s Abdominal Fat Reducer affects your body in several ways in addition to helping you reduce abdominal fat. These are:

• Increasing energy – More energy helps you burn calories and feel better.

• Speeding up metabolism – Causes more calories and fat to burn faster.

• Burning fat – Fat will be used for fuel and not stored.

• Improving fat metabolism – Your body will use stored fat for energy.

• Supporting your liver – The liver cleans the blood and breaks down fat cells. If your liver is functioning well, it will help your fat loss.

• Reducing stress – This helps reduce the amount of cortisol, the stress hormone which causes abdominal fat.

Dr Frank Ryan’s Abdominal Fat Reducer is an all natural product that will show results quickly. It will help you lose belly fat along with increasing energy and metabolism. All you have to do is take two soft gels twice a day with a meal and with 10 to 12 ounces of water. This product is manufactured by Endless Youth and Life.

Everyone knows that fruit and vegetables are important, as essential building blocks of any diet. Not only are they loaded with vitamins and minerals which are essential for healthy living, but they also help fill you up, as part of a balanced diet. By increasing your intake of fruit and vegetables, you will benefit your health no end, and will boost your immune system, as well as building resistance to common illnesses and infections. Furthermore, fruit and vegetables can leave you looking better and feeling great, as part of a healthy diet, which can be an all round improvement for your well-being.

Experts suggest that we should all consumer five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. This may sound initially like a large proportion of your daily overall intake, although it is essential that you strive to meet this target most days, for the benefit of your physical and mental health. Additionally, by filling out meals and increasing satisfaction at meal times. On top of that, the natural goodness contained within these ultimate healthy foods will provide the necessary energy to fuel you through the day, and give you the drive and determination to progress through a course of exercise to improve overall fitness.

Fruit can act as a substitute for sugary snacks, which otherwise deplete energy and lead to numerous other health problems. The natural sugar contained within fruits is essential for the effective maintenance of the immune system and the body’s natural defense mechanisms. As well as increasing fruits within the diet as a healthy snacking alternative, it is also a good idea to make more use of vegetables in every meal. Vegetables should account for a substantial proportion of each meal, to ultimately improve your diet, and by ensuring a substantial increase in the role they play within your diet, you should end up seeing the benefits in your skin, hair, and general health.

By increasing your intake of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy balanced diet, you can really benefit from the healthy nutrients and minerals these foods contain. In addition to this, fruit and vegetable intake can leave you feeling physically better and more alert, increasing attention span and reducing tiredness.

Why not try introducing more vegetables and fruit into your diet today, by doing a straight swap of fruit for sugary snacks, and introducing vegetables to boost any meal, as part of a nutritious and healthy balanced meal.

Countless studies have shown the seemingly countless benefits of fruits for a person’s health. The U.S. Government recommends that people get several servings of fruits every day. Of all the fruits available in the market today, one fruit is at its height of popularity because of its legendary Greek mythology association and its exoticism-the pomegranate fruit.

Considered as one of the earliest fruits that have been cultivated along with grapes, figs, olives, and dates somewhere between 4000 B. C. E and 3000 B. C. E., pomegranate continued to be an emblem of fertility, rebirth, and health.

Dubbed as a “miracle fruit” by some fans, pomegranate has earned its popularity because it is thought to possibly help support the body’s natural defenses against Alzheimer’s disease, various cancers, coronary and heart diseases, arthritis and many ailments an aging person experiences. Because of its so -called anti-aging possibilities, pomegranate has had several food and beverage variations from juices, ice creams, dishes, and even in water that come in bottles.

Why is pomegranate good for you?

This handsome fruit is quite popular for its deep and purple-colored juice that is packed with lots of antioxidants that may help in maintaining a smooth and wrinkle free skin. But, aside from the possibility of helping people to maintain youthful and glowing skin by keeping the blood platelets together, there are so many health benefits of pomegranate to people of all ages. While no health claims are made regarding pomegranate whatsoever, here are some of the remedies and uses that some people hope pomegranate can help with.

1. It may help reduce the risk of having a heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. Studies show that pomegranate juice daily may help support the normal blood flow to the heart. Because of its antioxidant properties, pomegranate keeps bad cholesterol from forming, and thus, may help keep the arteries clear of clots.

2. It may help support the body’s normal defense in the prevention of certain cancers. Since pomegranates has very high levels of antioxidant called “flavenoids” that is thought to be effective in counteracting various cancer-causing radicals, more and more experts recommend this fruit as a possible part of a healthy diet. Because of flavenoids, many people are consuming pomegranate because it is believed to help support their good health.

3. It may help reduce the risks for illnesses such as atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, and diabetes. Because of the properties of pomegranate, conditions that are known to cause the thickening and hardening of arterial walls and damage in cartilage and joints are hoped to be helped by this fruit. Studies are needed of course to get test results. No claims are made as to what the pomegranate may or may not help.

4. It is a rich source of various vitamins. Pomegranate is a good, natural source of vitamins A, C and E as well as folic acid.

5. It is rumored to help reduce the possibility of having premature babies. Pomegranate juice and extract is thought by some people to help expectant mothers avoid having low birth weight babies.

6. Some users claim it is beneficial for relieving minor illnesses such as core throat.

7. Other users believe it might reduce the possibility of developing Alzheimer’s disease among older people.

8. It is prized in some countries for the belief that it might help in achieving and maintaining a clear skin with youthful glow, and it is believed to help soothe skin inflammation.

9. The antioxidants are thought to help support the immune system.

10. It may help support healthy blood flow because of its iron properties. Pomegranate supports the blood by supplying it with iron, thus may help prevent anemia symptoms that include exhaustion, dizziness, weakness, and hear loss.

11. Aside from having lots of anti-oxidants, pomegranate also might have some anti-viral properties.

12. Pomegranate juice and extract is thought by some women to help in overcoming the feeling of general malaise during menopause.

While no medical claims can be made for pomegranate, the juice is growing in popularity every day as more and more people try it and benefit from it.

One form of persuasive speaking is when you want to prove that something is – or is not – TRUE. There is also when you want your audience to DO something and when you want to sway them to your point of VIEW. Hence, the DO, TRUE and VIEW forms of persuasion.

Being persuasive requires different considerations than informative speaking, and one of them is how you organize your ideas. Your particular objective determines the best organization. You still have the three parts of a speech – the intro, body, and conclusion. But in the TRUE method, the Main Points in the Body of your talk would consist of some combination of any or all of these three items: (1) personal observation or experience, (2) evidence, (3) expert testimony.

To see how this organization would work when you want to prove to your audience that something is (or is not) TRUE, let’s create a hypothetical objective. Suppose you’re talking to a group of people who want to go on a diet. You’ve recommended the “Skinny Minny” system. But some members of the group have questioned whether that particular diet really works. You want to prove to them that it is TRUE that they can lose weight on this diet. Here’s how you might outline that presentation:

I. INTRO

A. HOOK: Start with something attention-getting. Maybe it could be a startling statistic or revelation: “Eighty percent of all people who lose weight on a diet gain it back within a year.”

B. REASON TO LISTEN: “To lose weight effectively and keep it off, you need to follow a program that allows you to control cravings and make smart eating choices without having to count calories. The problem is, how do you know which diet will do that and not just be another fad leaving you hungry or with the lost pounds returning a year later? There is an answer.”

II. BODY

A. ROAD MAP: The Skinny Minny System is an effective eating program that will enable you to lose pounds slowly but permanently and keep the weight off simply by changing some of your eating choices. Let me show you the proof that it works.

B. MAIN POINTS:

1. EVIDENCE

Present research results, studies or other data that support your claim. In proving this diet’s integrity, you might present health and nutrition studies that document this plan’s success with weight loss. You could cite surveys of people who took weight off and kept it off over several years.

2. PERSONAL OBSERVATION

Something you’ve seen or experienced personally can be very compelling. You could tell your own story of how, on this program, you shed pounds, dropped several clothing sizes, and have kept the weight off.

3. EXPERT TESTIMONY

A validation of your claim by other people who are acknowledged as experts can build your case. You could cite testimonials from doctors and nutritionists extolling the results of this plan and its health benefits. You would also probably cite, complete with before and after photos, the testimony of others who have lost and kept off the weight.

III. CONCLUSION

A. SUMMARY: Wrap up with reviewing the proof-the research, the personal success stories, the expert validation-that supports your claim about the Skinny Minny’s success at weight loss.

B. CLOSE/CALL TO ACTION: “I hope you’ve been able to see the proof of Skinny Minny’s results. If you change the way you eat, you’ll change the way you look and feel. So just give it a try. Sign up for just one month and see if you don’t look and feel different after 30 days.”

Whether you’ve read PETA literature, seen the Alicia Silverstone commercial, or just want to lose weight-going vegan seems like a healthy, earth-friendly choice. Indeed, this animal-free diet and lifestyle features zero cholesterol and 1/20th or less the field growing space required for beef. Since heart disease ranks as the number one killer in the U.S., and our demand for cattle contributes highly to destruction of the rainforest, a vegan diet makes sense. Unfortunately, some people jump right in without much knowledge and soon find themselves living less than optimally. This article lists the top four mistakes people make when going vegan-and offers ways to make a smart transition.

1) The “Fake Meat” and Potatoes Syndrome:

With Tofurky Brats, Tofu Pups, dozens of veggie burger styles, Chik’n and even BBQ Riblets in supermarket freezers, anyone can substitute a meat analog for meat and serve a Standard American Diet dinner with soy and wheat modifications. While these products can work well as transition foods, they also contain both wheat gluten and soy-two high contenders in the food allergy arena. Yes, they offer lower-fat, plant based protein alternatives, but eating gluten and soy at every meal increases your chance of feeling less than great on a vegan diet. Symptoms can include: bloating, sluggishness, irritability, fatigue, and constipation. People who did not previously notice sensitivities to wheat or soy might if these two foods make an appearance in every meal.

The body likes variety. Interview long term vegans and they will tell you that despite the exclusion of animal products, they now eat a wider variety of foods than they ever did as omnivores. Try to break out of the meat and potatoes mindset. Vegetable stir fries, salads with nuts, fruit smoothies with rice or hemp protein powder, and a world of ethnic dishes offer ample protein and nutrients without relying on wheat and soy. When you want to feel mainstream at a 4th of July party or even at family meals with omnivores, meat analogues can help you fit in. But allow yourself to embrace Mother Earth’s bounty: vegans do not live (well) on gluten and soy alone.

2) “I’m So Healthy I Don’t Need Vitamins Anymore”:

For some people who carefully plan their diets, this statement might be true. For most new vegans, it can appear true-for awhile. Compared to the Standard American Diet, vegan diets bring in more antioxidants than average people acquire through food. Several nutrients do require attention, though, namely: B-vitamins (especially B-12), zinc, calcium, and iron.

If you eat whole grains or leafy greens like kale, collards, spinach and chard, you can get lots of these items, but perhaps not quite enough. Although you have stores of B-12, without inclusion of animal products, your reserves can drop to dangerous levels. Low B-12 can result in a form of anemia, increased homocysteine levels (which can lead to heart attacks), fatigue, mood swings and mental fogginess. Gabriel Cousens, M.D. offers a comprehensive article on various vegan B-12 studies: http://www.therawdiet.com/b12.html. The other B-vitamins can help you manage stress, achieve mental clarity, and maintain energy levels. Bottom line: if you feel tired after a few weeks or months of vegan living, a B-vitamin complex and especially B-12 may raise your energy. If symptoms persist, ask your doctor for some blood tests.

Although studies show comparable calcium and iron levels in vegans and people following a standard diet, many people suffer from anemia and pre-osteoporosis conditions. You ingest adequate amounts by drinking green smoothies, eating (and chewing well) at least one salad per day, and juicing calcium and iron powerhouses like broccoli, spinach and kale. Fortified breads, cereals and orange juice can also amp up your intake. Legumes and small doses of blackstrap molasses offer other ways to increase your iron. Look at your diet honestly, though. If you do not consume these things several times per day, consider adding them in or taking a vegan multi-vitamin. If you prefer whole foods, you can add a teaspoon or more of spirulina (a blue green algae) to fruit smoothies for an instant nutrient boost. It’s green, but a kale, spirulina, avocado (and/or almond milk), banana, and agave nectar smoothie will leave you energized and wanting more.

Zinc poses a challenge to animal-free diets, but you can find it in pumpkin seeds, legumes and nuts. Their protein facilitates zinc absorption. If you find yourself getting sick a lot since going vegan, have lower sexual drive, or skin problems, make sure your multi-vitamin contains zinc. If you decide to take a separate supplement, you might want to check with your doctor first. Zinc overdose can quickly become toxic.

3) Low Fat, No Fat and Wrong Fat

Most people have heard of the benefits of Omega-3 Fatty acids, especially as doctors began recommending fish for its Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) profile. “Essential” means you must acquire these fats from food; your body needs them and cannot make them on its own. Ideally, you want a balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty acids, but without planning, a vegan diet can become very Omega-6 heavy. Corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil all favor Omega-6 absorption. Imbalances of Omega-6/Omega-3 can lead to mood swings, mental decline, sore joints, poor immunity, and acne, among other problems.

High sources of vegan Omega-3 fats include: flax seeds and oil, walnuts, canola oil (controversial due to genetic engineering) and leafy greens. Hemp seeds and oil provide the perfect ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fats, as does Udo’s Oils, a product created by scientist Udo Erasmus. Additionally, algae-from which fish receive their Omega-3’s-provide great plant source fats. In addition to spirulina, Omega-Zen 3, E3Live, and Crystal Manna offer vegan ways to balance your fat intake.

4) In Search Of: Perfection through Diet

No diet will solve all your problems, all the time. I have personally witnessed some incredible transformations in people switching to a vegan diet, but the changes proved long lasting only in those people who also made major lifestyle and attitude changes. Trying to eliminate every possible animal ingredient, animal testing or negative impact on an animal can become an obsession that interferes with abundant, joyful living. If you’ve made the commitment to live animal-free, I commend your choice. If you would like to inspire others to live this lifestyle, then I suggest you make it seem as easy and attractive as possible.

Yes, you’ll need to read labels in the grocery store and ask questions in restaurants. Yes, you might consult PETA’s guide to shopping, but ask yourself how far you need to go on every single item. We live in a world that, unfortunately, exploits animals and destroys our environment. We can each make small and large strides towards improving that state of affairs. We also live among other human beings. In your new found compassion towards animals, try to remember the people in your life. Education by example usually proves more effective than lectures, shame fests and ultimatums. If you turned to a vegan diet for health reasons, enjoy your new found health! If you turned vegan for the animals, become an advertisement for animal-free living! Look good, feel good, smile more.

Bon appétit!