This blog was created by me and written by me til December 2019. I started it to share things that made our life easier at home and while traveling. ‘Our’ meaning my vegetarian coeliac husband (now ex husband and still friend) and I with wheat/peanut/cashew/shellfish/soy/legume/cheese intolerances plus a penchant for researching everything about food and health.
That penchant and reading just about ‘everything’ including the scientific non-biased debunking of The China Study book, Game Changers documentary etc moved me from believing vegetarian/vegan was the right way for health and the environment, to thinking we need to stop treating diets like religions. I have been witness to many people changing diets to fix themselves and I myself have tried several. The one I like best for myself is ‘The Perfect Health Diet’ with the absence of liver as my body has enough copper in it already probably and even the smell turns my stomach. Are you listening to your body?
The truth is we all need to find what makes us thrive individually – simple as that. We do not need to justify it further. Plenty of things in the vegetarian diet contributed to chronic health issues for me. The Dalai Lama has to eat meat as did not fare well on a vegetarian diet. Legumes can cause inflammation and are in the list of first things to stop consuming if you have Multiple Sclerosis – the lectins in beans are an enzyme that can cross the blood-brain barrier causing more inflammation in the brain. Avoiding beans helps some MS sufferers.
We should not ever feel shame or guilt about treating our bodies with respect and fueling them how they need to be fueled to feel well – our health IS the most precious thing we have but you won’t value it until you lose it. We can all agree we don’t want animals to suffer and that they do in intensive farming. There is too much marketing hogwash and propaganda out there basically to try to sell whatever product it is they want us to buy more of. Guess what foods the director of ‘Game Changers’ sells?
Too many myths about that get pushed and accepted as truths – are even promoted as truths (oh man – that makes me mad). I understand that livestock are essential for the eco circle, the contribution of cows to green house gases has been vastly exaggerated and meat for some people is simply not an optional food source. Fruit and veg today has a fraction of the nutrients it used to have. Animal poo on the land helps those nutrients.
The old traditional ways of farming are best and I am a big supporter of farmers who are fierce advocates/practitioners of animal welfare or who are rewilding their land. Rewilding has brought back species that were on the brink of extinction (a butterfly not seen for 20 years in the UK is one example) because I echo again that animals trampling around fields are necessary for the circle of life – another thing that excites me about rewilding that I have to tell you is that when farmers stop controlling weeds and hedgerows, cows wander over to eat plants now growing again that heal them instead of having to pump antibiotics into them. Nature is full of answers and we should stop bloody well messing with it which means also not removing the cows.
Processed foods, whether meat based or not, are bad for us. So beware those GF substitutes and sugar – please eat real food most of the time. Also be aware that as you age you need more protein so when you hit 50 you will likely need to up protein intake. Just promise me you will listen to your body and not the propaganda over what to eat, ok?
I wanted to keep this blog going as a useful resource re the vegetarian and gluten free combo that makes some people feel healthier, so my ex work colleague and dear friend Kevin is taking over. Thank you Kevin x.
Gluten Free Vegetarian - UK 
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