Veganism not just for hippies — athletes join club

The semester has finally come to an end as finals week is getting the best of us.

I want to reiterate that vegans are not hippies. Not consuming animal products does not equal hippie. People eat this way to improve their health and life for the future. Of course, a vegan diet ultimately helps the planet and was definitely a huge factor in my decision, but to some that is not the case.

I'm obviously not the only person who thinks this way of life is perfectly normal, so I listed a few well-known professional athletes and celebrities just to prove it.

Baseball writer Jonah Keri wrote, "Who says you have to eat meat to be a successful athlete?" Keri explains how many athletes say that choosing a vegan diet enhances their performance. These smarty-pants athletes also know that they are not going to be ball players and stick handlers forever. They know that staying away from meat and dairy will start improving their health for when they get older.

Others are faced with health conditions, such as Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez, that may force them to make the switch.

There have been several world-class athletes who adapted to a vegan or vegetarian diet, including former NFLers Desmond Howard and Ricky Williams, NBA guard Salim Stoudamire, track and field star Carl Lewis and Edwin Moses along with many others.

In May 2007, 247-pound, Gonzalez was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy. His doctors prescribed a diet made up of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds as a way to improve digestion and combat the condition. Now, he loads up on berries, bananas, mangos, fresh vegetables, rice milk and hemp milk and blends them into power smoothies.

Gonzalez was shocked that he felt so good when the season started. In the fourth quarters of games, he was sprinting past tired defenders. He also found himself more alert during team meetings. After game day while his teammates were sore and worn out, he'd check into the gym for a post-game workout.

Like Mixed Martial Arts? Five-foot-9-inch, 155-pound Mac Danzig became a vegan in 2004. Ever since, he says, he seems to have quicker recoveries from the beatings he takes during fights. Although MMA fighters are typically linked to meaty diets with shockingly high protein contents, Danzig is still able to fight under the direction of the Xtreme Couture MMA Gym in Las Vegas and keeps up with some of the biggest names in the sport.

The New York Knicks' Amar'e Stoudemire hasn't completely ditched the meat, but he is definitely down for boycotting fur and posing for PETA's "Ink, Not Mink" campaign. While promoting the campaign, Stoudemire admitted he tends to a four-day vegan diet as a type of body-cleansing. He stated the diet will "purify my body, and get my body in top shape."

Even local athletes recognize the plant-based diet. Allen Altfield, a senior computer science major, as well as a vegan athlete, gets enough protein without the animal fat. Altfield is more than impressive, traveling 3,800 miles — on a bicycle. He departed from Tybee Island, Ga., and ended up in San Francisco to raise green awareness. He traveled through 13 states in around 70 days with minimal training. Tell me, can any ol' meat eater can do that?

Remember the movie Clueless? Do Cher, Dionne and Amber ring a bell? If it not, at least try to remember that popular blonde Alicia Silverstone. Since becoming a vegan, Silverstone said she feels physically and spiritually better than she could ever have imagined. She even wrote a book, The Kind Diet, and appeared at UCF a few months back to talk to students about why to consume a vegan diet and the benefits.

PETA's sexiest vegan and vegetarians list include Olivia Wilde, who claimed that she felt "beyond [her] desire to boycott the torture factories, I am also way happier when I eat a plant based diet, and I feel about a thousand times more energetic." Carrie Underwood, Anne Hathaway and Josh Harnett said their good-byes to meat too.

"One day I was cutting up a chicken for my mom, and I hit a tumor with the knife," Hartnett said. "There was [pus] and blood all over the place. That was enough for me."

Andre 3000 admitted he prefers a good meal with broccoli "because I'm a vegetarian," after being asked during a post-award show interview.

Oh, and don't be so hard on yourself. You are the only person who can control what goes in your mouth.

As Altfield said: "I guess I've mentally blocked out negative feedback. Haters will be haters, but as long as you speak the neutral truth, they won't be able to provide any logically negative criticisms."

Check out this column post in the Central Florida Future!

McVeggies and salads and Fourthmeals — oh my!

Nowadays, pretty much all restaurants and fast-food chains offer salads, which are always an easy out for vegans and vegetarians. However, the leafy filled dish can get to be unsatisfying and boring. So don't settle — try something new.

Being a vegan doesn't mean you should avoid eating out. Just in case you end up around one of these establishments I listed, you know what to order.

 In order to persuade meat-eaters to eat healthier, vegan/vegetarian options must be available in the places where they dine. We must show that we support these places to get what we want in return. Even Burger King offers its BK Veggie; a vegetarian (not vegan) burger. Help by ordering these menu items at restaurants that you've been eating at for years.

Baskin-Robbins offers dairy and gelatin-free ices and sorbets. Enjoy them as you would ice cream, except without the horror of dairy — need I remind you of the hormones?

One of my favorites, at Cheeburger Cheeburger and Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, is a large, grilled vegan Boca burger. Enjoy a grilled Portobello mushroom sandwich at Cheeburger Cheeburger as well.

At Chili's, order the veggie quesadillas or fajitas and substitute the cheese and sour cream with extra vegetables and guacamole. In fact, you can create vegan quesadillas and fajitas in most restaurants. Also offered is a vegetarian black bean patty that can take place of any burger or sandwich meat on the menu. Chili's vegetarian menu cautions to avoid all fried food because the same fryer oil is used for animal products.

Chipotle also offers a vegetarian fajita burrito. Ask for black beans instead of the pinto beans, which are cooked with bacon.

If pizza is your go-to fast food,  make Little Caesars and Papa John's your choice. The pizza sauce and dough at both restaurants are vegan. Omit the cheese and choose your favorite vegetable toppings instead. You can easily create a tasteful vegan pizza.

A new find for me is  The Boston Coffee House, in the Waterford Lakes shopping plaza. I went for  the first time recently and ordered the Mango Salsa Salad with mandarin ginger dressing and asked them to stuff it into a pita for me. It was vegan-ly delicious! They allow you to fill any pita with a salad or roll it up into a wrap. Also offered is a roasted vegetable pita — leave out the cheese and substitute the cucumber sauce for a non-cream based dressing. Don't forget to ask for soy milk and hold the whip when ordering a coffee drink.

Vegans can also enjoy Denny's any time of the day. Denny's vegan foods include oatmeal, English muffins, bagels, grits, applesauce, fresh fruit, vegetable plates, seasoned French fries, baked potatoes with several vegetable toppings, garden salads with light Italian or oil-and-vinegar dressing, and sandwiches that can be made with several vegetable options.

Craving a good old fashioned fast food burger? Johnny Rockets features the Streamliner, a vegan Boca burger with grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and mustard. And if you're visiting New York City or California, McDonald's is offering a McVeggie burger as a trial run.

Macaroni Grill has several vegan options, including all the pastas with garlic and oil and its Capellini Pomodoro. If you order Tomato Bruschetta and Penne Arrabbiata without cheese, you're golden.

My favorite bagel place of all time is Manhattan Bagel. Guess what? The bagels are vegan. Just use your judgment, obviously the jalapeño cheddar cheese and egg varieties are not vegan. The Manhattan Grille and Vegetable Garden sandwiches can be made on a bagel, a roll, or a tortilla and are vegan if you omit the spreads and cheese.

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill also offers a tremendous amount of vegan and vegetarian options. Order any veggie option on Mondays and receive 20 percent off your meal. Still craving Mexican? All of Moe's Southwest Grill's tacos, fajitas, salads and burritos can be made vegan by substituting tofu for meat and skipping the cheese. Double check and make sure it's being made with a vegan tortilla.

P.F. Chang's is one of the most vegan-friendly restaurant chains around. Its vegetarian menu is terrific, and everything can be made vegan; from appetizers such as Tofu Lettuce Wraps (I order it every time) to entrées like Orange Peel Tofu.

A local favorite is Pollo Tropical. Several vegan options are available such as the Vegetarian TropiChop entrée. Other vegan items include Balsamic Tomatoes and Bananas Tropical. The chain's black beans, French fries, white rice, yellow rice, boiled yucca and corn are vegan too.

An alternative to Subway's Veggie Delite is Quiznos's veggie sub. Order it filled with guacamole, black olives, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and mushrooms.

If you're in the theme parks  and your stomach starts growling after venturing through Animal Kingdom, the Rainforest Cafe offers The Natural Burger without the Safari Sauce and the Morningstar Garden Grill.

Feeling the Fourthmeal? Taco Bell's dishes can be veganized if you omit a few ingredients. The tacos, nachos, and Mexican pizzas are vegan when you order it without the meat, cheese and sour cream. Or stick with the bean burrito without the cheese. Same with Del Taco.

If you pass a Wendy's, go for a plain baked potato, the Deluxe Garden Salad with red Italian dressing and no cheese or French fries.

Do some research. You'll be surprised at what your favorite restaurants offer. Read the menu, use your judgment and ask questions if you need to. This is your chance to broaden your horizons and add more variety to your diet.

For more information on how to go out to eat vegan-style, visit peta.org/living/vegetarian-living.

Check out my column as seen in the Central Florida Future!

The healthy benefits of a vegan diet

In previous posts, I have explained the reasons you should kick dairy and meat out of your diet for good. I touched on why consuming these products are horrendous for human health. I also briefly mentioned how these products can harm your health.

I feel that just "briefly mentioning" information like that is not an efficient way to get information out and I apologize for that. I dedicate today to telling you practically everything you need to know about the health benefits of a vegan diet.

People misunderstand vegans. Not all vegans are animal-rights activists. Not all vegans are hippies. Vegans don't starve themselves, either. There are vegans that are normal people, like me, who have an ambition to be healthy.

A vegan diet is healthy, balanced and prevents major diseases that happen to be abundant in America. One of the No.1 worst kinds of fat is saturated fat, which derives mainly from animal products. Reducing this kind of fat from your diet will significantly improve your cardiovascular health. A vegan diet limits these fats tremendously with the exception of some oils such as coconut oil.

Another pro to being a vegan is increasing the amount of fiber that you consume. Not only does a diet rich in fiber lead to healthier bowel movements, it also puts up a mean fight against colon cancer. Laugh if you want, but pooping is an extremely important factor in maintaining health.

If weight loss is your goal, it helps with that too. In fact, Skinny Bitch authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin dedicate an entire chapter to pooping. They admitted in an interview with www.thedietchannel.com that, "You've got to be a good pooper if you want to be skinny."

Do not confuse this for taking laxatives. I repeat: no laxatives. They are bad. Try life's natural laxatives such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. What do they all have in common you ask? If you haven't guessed it by now, they are all high in fiber! Don't forget to wash down these tasty poop-promoters with lots of water.

Another important aid to our diets is magnesium. Magnesium helps absorb calcium. Find these elements in nuts, dark leafy greens and seeds.

Don't forget about taking your vitamins! Forget the kind that you purchase in the bottle from the local pharmacy. Try the real stuff. For example, Vitamin E benefits your brain, skin, eyes and heart. Studies also show that the vitamin may help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Find this super-vitamin in dark leafy greens, nuts and grains.

I know I mentioned this before, but it is something I feel is worth attempting to hammer into your heads again. As for protein, most Americans eat too much. No surprise there, I've mentioned why this is and hopefully it made an impression. Meat sources are not healthy ways of getting protein. Lentils, soy products, raw nuts and beans are. Get the right and healthy amount of protein for your body from a vegan diet.

While you begin to substitute meat and dairy products for nuts and whole grains, you are eliminating cardiovascular problems in the future. According to a British study, vegan diets reduce the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes and helps prevent heart attacks and strokes. If you want these diseases, be my guest to go order a Happy Meal. I don't mean that -- please don't buy a Happy Meal.

One of my favorite parts of a vegan diet is that most products are cholesterol free. This means a lot to me because high cholesterol runs in my family. Do not mistake this for obesity. If you looked at my family, you would think we were a really healthy bunch.

Back in the day, I was the runt of my friends -- always the tiniest, always the shortest. However, my cholesterol levels hit the roof at around 227 when I was in sixth grade. That's basically off the charts awful for a 12-year-old girl. I was the girl dabbing my slice of pizza with a paper towel at birthday parties to get the grease off. Not cute.

There are good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterols. My main focus is to help break you away from the bad stuff. According to the American Heart Association, when too much bad cholesterol circulated in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. It also forms a thick, hard deposit called plaque that can narrow your arteries and make them less flexible. Try to envision the inside of your body right now. If you think that there is a chance it might look like this, or may look like this in the future, please consider what I am telling you. These arteries can eventually clot up and as a result promote heart attack and stroke.

Even the boobies reap benefits. In countries where women consume very little animal products, such as Japan, there is a lower rate of breast cancer. This is because a traditional Japanese diet is much lower in animal fats. According to www.cancerproject.org, when Japanese girls are raised on westernized diets, their rate of breast cancer increases dramatically.

Another major study directed by Dean Ornish, MD, clinical professor, Peter Carroll, MD, chair of the department of urology and the late William Fair, MD, chief of urologic surgery and chair of urologic oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, shows that switching to a vegan diet stops the progress of prostate cancer. Men in the early stages of prostate cancer who make intensive changes in diet and lifestyle may stop or perhaps even reverse the progression of their illness.

I could honestly write a 100-foot-long scroll front and back about all of the diseases you can prevent yourself from. To save you the time, I'll quickly go over a few more.

Vegan diets aid in helping to prevent cataracts and macular degeneration through the intake of fruits and vegetables. Ignoring dairy is parallel to alleviating arthritis symptoms. You can also prevent osteoporosis.

Like I said before, a vegan diet can be used as a weight loss tool if it needs to be, but that is not the main goal here. You will begin to feel more energized. When I stopped eating meat and dairy products I almost immediately felt like I had a boost of energy. The first few weeks I felt like my entire body went through its own natural cleanse. It was exhilarating. Everything about it felt healthy and fresh.

Vegans also have the benefit of having good skin health. Don't get me wrong, I still get the occasional massive breakout. So this may not be true for everyone. However, according to NursingDegree, many people who switch to a vegan diet will notice a remarkable reduction in blemishes.

This might be enough to sway you. If you have allergies skip the Benadryl. Try eating a little bit healthier. Stop eating the meat and the dairy. It is actually tied to the alleviation of allergy symptoms.

I used to get colds a lot. Since I became a vegan I have not had one stuffy nose. Think it is a coincidence? I fought off all of the illnesses my friends got during winter and when the weather was changing in between. I thank Vitamin C for that and of course, eating right.

Instead of bashing everything that you shouldn't eat, I wanted to give you the opportunity to know what you should be eating and why. As Barnouin and Freedman say, when given the proper fuel, our bodies function like perfect machines. Do your best to make sure your machine runs as long as it possibly can.

Check out this post in the Central Florida Future!