the SAD Truth: Is your Diet Killing you?

The SAD truth: Is your diet killing you?
by Peggy Kraus
Disease Prevention Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/x-672-Disease-Prevention-Examiner~y2008m11d10-Will-you-be-the-cause-of-your-demise

Eat more of these!
The standard American diet, commonly refered to as the SAD diet, is a toxic diet. Rich in meats, dairy products, and processed foods, this way of eating will cause disease, such as those of the heart, diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis. A much more healthful, sustainable way of eating is the vegan diet.

It has been estimated that 60% of deaths are caused by our SAD diet. That's huge! That means that six out of ten deaths is PREVENTABLE! You can prevent your demise!

So, what do we need to do to change this? Largely, the answer lies in the foods we eat.

Vegan diets contain foods that are of unmatched nutritive value. We need to fill our bodies with the nutrients that are required for good health. Unfortunately, these nutrients are not found in chicken or fat-free milk. Ninety-percent of our diet should be made up of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans.

These foods contain thousands of micronutrients, i.e. vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants, that work together to repair the never ending damage that daily living brings about within our bodies.

If you follow the low-fat American Heart Association diet, you are taking a risk. As many as one in three people who follow this diet develop heart disease. That's too many needless deaths. The AHA allows too much meat and dairy, including eggs, and does not emphasize enough vegetables. The key to a long and disease-free life is eating a diet that is plentiful in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and beans.

Ideas for good eatin' --

* Eat three fruits at breakfast with your oats or whole grain toast.
* Lunch can be a salad with a number of fresh vegetables, or perhaps a soup with different squash, lentils, and carrots.
* Have fruit as a snack, or cut up veggies. Skip the dressing.
* And, forget the meat at dinner. Vegetarian chili or pasta primavera is fabulous this time of year.

Remember, you are what you eat! Your taste buds will get accustomed to your new eating style, and you will enjoy better health for a longer life.