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June 1, 2009 – Evolving Appetites

Welcome to Evolving Appetites’ monthly newsletter. Short, informative and hopefully fun to read veggie bits. Let us know if we don’t deliver on this – we always love feedback from our readers. Contact info is at the bottom of the page.

In this issue:

• Veg health: Animal protein vs plant protein
• Veg heroes: Enlightened City of Ghent, Belgium
• Recipe(s) of the month: Oil-free dressings for those salad days of summer
• EVENTS update

Veg Health – Animal Protein vs Plant Protein

This month’s veg health topic is the result of a question from subscriber Bonnie, who asked: “Do meat eaters and plant eaters essentially get the same protein – protein from plants - though we get it first hand and they get it pre-chewed and pre-digested?”

I'm going to this answer based on research presented in “The China Study”, as well as information from PCRM.

Proteins are made up of different amino acids, 8 of them being "essential" - meaning our bodies can't produce them - we have to get them from food. Animal proteins are termed "complete" because they have all 8 essential amino acids, whereas plant proteins are referred to as "incomplete" because they don't have all 8 amino acids.

At first glance, it appears that animal protein is better because of the terminology used to describe them.

However, the fact is plant proteins are MUCH easier to digest, precisely because they are "incomplete". In order for your body to actually use the protein, it has to break it down into the amino acids, and then use them to build protein for muscles, cell repair, regeneration, etc. So if you eat animal protein, your body has to work much harder to break down these proteins. If you eat a VARIETY of plant proteins, your body will take whichever amino acids it needs, and do the building work as it goes. It's much easier for your body to do that. Also, animal protein makes your body acidic - which then leads to inflammation - which in turn is the root cause for many diseases such as arthritis, osteoporosis, kidney disease, gallstones, heart disease, cancer, and many more. Plant protein doesn't have this issue.

So to sum it up, plant-protein is actually superior to animal protein, despite the unfortunate terminology.

As a follow up to last month’s piece on preventing and reversing diabetes, here are the charts of “Foods to Avoid” & “Foods to Include”, per PCRM

DISCLAIMER: This site does not provide medical advice. This website is for information purposes only. The nutritional information on this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health practitioner with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

Evolving Appetites and its owner accept no liability for any injury arising out of the use of material contained herein, and make no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the contents of this publication.

Veg Heroes - Enlightened City of Ghent, Belgium

This month’s veg hero is a whole city, rather than an individual. Ghent, Belgium is the first city in the world to officially adopt a weekly vegetarian day as a means of reducing global warming and tackling obesity.

Once a week, city councilors and civil servants will opt for veggie fare. This move came as a result of the United Nation’s 2006 report titled “Livestock’s Long Shadow” previously mentioned in this newsletter, which states that animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gases than all of transportation combined.

Public officials and politicians will be first to give up meat for a day. School children will follow with a meatless day per week starting this September.

To help other citizens adopt their own meatless day, the city is printing up 90,000 “veggie street maps” to help them find vegetarian eateries.

Now that’s what I call progressive – any North American cities up for the challenge? Meatless Mondays? Tofu Tuesdays? Flesh-free Fridays? The possibilities are endless!

Oil-free dressings

Summer spells salads for me – lots of them. But if you load up your healthy looking salad with oil-laden commercial dressing, your arteries can still get clogged, and you’re not getting nearly the health benefits you think you maybe getting. So here are three dressings that use no oil, but I promise you won’t miss it. Measurements are approximate – adjust to your own tastes – as always, recipes are guidelines, not “carved-in-stone” commandments. All of these dressings will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days. Enjoy!

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

1 pkg silken FIRM tofu (e.g. Mori-Nu 12 oz)

Blend first five ingredients in blender or food processor until completely smooth (that’s your basic tofu sour cream). Add the rest of the ingredients until well combined. Serve with crudités. Or can be thinned with water or soy milk to desired consistency and used as a salad dressing.

Orange Dijon

Whisk all ingredients until smooth. This is great as a marinade for vegetables or over a spinach salad

Events update:

Next issue: July 6, 2009 [NOTE: July issue will be published a week later than usual]

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Tell us what you think – is the newsletter too long, too short, or just right? What would you like to see more of? Less of? Tell us your veggie success story, and we’ll publish it [we reserve the right to edit for space and clarity]. Contact us at info@evolvingappetites.com

DISCLAIMER: This site does not provide medical advice. This website is for information purposes only. The nutritional information on this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health practitioner with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

Evolving Appetites and its owner accept no liability for any injury arising out of the use of material contained herein, and make no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the contents of this publication.