Vegan Campus » Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan

Adding Asparagus to Your Vegan Diet

Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 20:01:49 +0000

It is a very surprising observation that the French have among the least number of heart attacks when compared to their western counterparts.

One study felt that this was because of their high consumption of red wine. Researchers were not sure, if this was the main reason and were cautious in their conclusions, although tipplers all over the world were very pleased with these research results.

Others speculated that compared to Europeans and Americans, the French set apart time for a luxurious and elaborately time consuming lunch and their relaxed lifestyle could be contributory to the lesser rates of coronary artery disease. One other overlooked fact is that the French cuisine is rich with generous amounts of asparagus in their dishes. It makes me wonder if asparagus was also contributing to the good health of the French?

What is Asparagus?

Asparagus is a perennial garden plant belonging to the Lily family (Liliaceae). Of the 300 varieties of asparagus, only 20 are edible. Asparagus has been prized as an epicurean delight and prized for its medicinal properties for over 2000 years

Today, asparagus is cultivated in most subtropical and temperate parts of the world with the majority of commercially available asparagus grown in United States, Mexico, Peru, France, Spain and other Mediterranean countries.

The nutritional value of Asparagus:

Asparagus is an excellent source of vitamin K, the B vitamin folate, vitamin C, vitamin A. Asparagus is a very good source of numerous B vitamins — including vitamin B1, B2, B3 and B6 – as well as dietary fiber, manganese, copper, phosphorous, potassium and protein. (source)

Some health benefits of Asparagus:

It is rich in vitamin K and Folic acid. This is said to prevent birth defects in the fetus, such as neural tube defects and spina bifida.
It is great for the heart because it has anti-oxidant properties; it lowers cholesterol levels and wards off high blood pressure. It also reduces the homocysteine levels and thus prevents heart attacks.
It is useful in women with menstrual cramps and infertility.
It is considered to be a diuretic and removes the water retention in PMS.
It is said to detoxify the body and improve digestion.
It eliminates warts.
It has anti-fungal and anti-viral properties.
Prevents recurrent bladder infections.
It has aphrodisiac properties (Is that why the French are into it?).
It has anti-cancer properties.
It has been used in chronic fatigue syndrome.
It is said to prevent multiple sclerosis.
It is said to limit hair loss and even fight toothaches.

Asparagus Drawbacks:

It contains purine and people who suffer from gout and kidney stones are advised not to consume it.
It can make urine smell and that disturbs certain individuals.

This yummy little vegetable is one of our healthiest foods. Not only does it have a small amount of calories per serving but it also provides many protective nutrients. Many doctors have cited that the carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, and selenium protect our bodies against cancer and heart disease. And yes, asparagus has all of these and more.

References

The Ayurvedic View on Energy Foods: Grains, Vegetables, and Fruits

Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:58:29 +0000

Do you suffer from an energy crisis and feel that you need a high-energy fix from time to time? Do you then resort to drinking coffee, eating a bar of chocolate, or go on an eating binge of junk foods and high sugared snack. If you do I suggest that you should read on…

You are not going to believe this:

You are going to be very surprised to hear that ayurveda, the most ancient Indian medical system, has an answer and has golden tips for solving your energy crisis. Ayurveda advocates a diet that is generous in fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The ancient ayurvedic texts tell us that these foods are rich in life giving energy, healing powers, fighting body fatigue and have the power of detoxifying the body.

Grains have power:

Long distance runners from Africa have always relied on carbohydrates in grains for long-term endurance and energy. All carbohydrates are not the same. For instance the croissant is high in fat and low in nutrition. Whole grains have lower cholesterol; they also have anti-bacterial properties and actually lower elevated blood sugar levels.

Ayurveda considers rye, millet and amaranth as highly nutritious, as they have high protein and mineral content. In fact, these grains are considered so auspicious that they are used during Vedic ceremonies as items for worship.

Rye for instance, contains high proteins, and one cup yields about 15 grams of protein, 9 grams of iron and adequate quantities of B-complex vitamins, iron, zinc and copper which is an important trace element for boosting energy levels and raising the body’s immunity. The ancient seers used a term called as ‘Ojas’, an energy, which is the result of good digestion and creates a sense of lightness in the body, gives a person the inner energy or glow, confers immunity against infections and bestows the individual with bliss.

Energizing Vegetables and Fruits:

Ayruveda advocates that fresh vegetables and fruits should constitute forty percent of every meal. Green, leafy vegetables are rich in mineral and fiber, and they should be eaten often.

Ayurveda considers fruits as a rich source of energy. Ayurvedic physicians recommend pears and apples, if you are hungry between meals. They recommend papaya, if you feel bloated after lunch.

Ayurveda strongly recommends the generous use of dry fruits, especially raisins. The ayurvedic texts extol the virtue of raisins calling them the best among dry fruits because it has the quality to enhance purity of the mind and pacify the mind and heart. Dry fruits are a rich source of iron and Vitamin B6, and provide magnesium, calcium, zinc and potassium. Raisins aid digestion and elimination when they are soaked in water overnight. One handful per person is a good amount everyday.

Ayurveda also cautions against energy draining foods:

The ayurvedic texts warn us not to eat left over foods or highly seasoned foods and foods that make us sluggish. Ayurvedic physicians were extremely conscious of energy draining foods, which clogged the micro-channels called as Nadis and created an accumulation of toxins.

We have advanced a lot in this millennium

But our diet practices are abysmal. We eat foods bereft of energy, we consume milk, which is a poison, we eat meat, and we eat tinned, canned and processed foods and do not realize how much harm we cause to ourselves. It is fascinating how Ayurveda, a science that dates back thousands of years warns us of these dangers. It was almost as if our ancient seers who wrote these treatises were aware, what humanity was going to come to in this millennium.

Sources:

Abysmal Conditions at India’s Illegal Abattoirs

Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:55:51 +0000

In the year 2000, Jackie Chan, Hong Kong’s ambassador for tourism was dismayed and saddened by the well documented torture of millions of Indian cattle, who were killed for meat and leather export. In deep anguish he shot off a letter to the Indian Prime-minister urging him to fight the widespread corruption and illegal practices that permeate the cruel transport and slaughter. The Indian prime minister promised remedial action. But nothing has changed since.

The cows, bullocks and calves are transported from remote places in India in the dead of the night. The animals are racked with pain and filled with fear and often have to endure a long journey without food and water. The collapsing animals are savagely beaten, have chilly and pepper rubbed into the their eyes, their tails are broken and some have their horns broken without the use of anesthesia.

Enshrined in the Indian constitution are the rights for cattle. It prohibits cruelty to cattle but the government simple looks the other way.

The problem of illegal abattoirs:

According to some estimates there are more than 800 illegal slaughter shops in Mumbai, where illegal slaughter goes unchallenged. These shops are concealed in marketplaces and there is no animal welfare regulation, no adequate water supply and poor drainage.

There is no proper animal waste disposal. The waste is simply dumped into the sewer system and putrefaction results and poisonous gases are released. The whole sewer system is a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode one day. In addition the organic waste can breed bacterial and viruses and it can spread infectious diseases. In fact there is no proper waste removal system at the Deonar Abattoir, which is Mumbai’s biggest facility.

At a recent press meeting the members of PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, accused the municipality for turning a blind eye to the burning problem. In the past year, PETA representatives have made several unannounced visits to Deonar, but the shocking inhumane conditions still persist and nothing seems to have changed. The PETA officials repeatedly caught officials lying about animal welfare measures. The slaughtering facilities are in violation of both Indian and Muslim law.

How can we make a change?

The Leather industry In India employs 2.5 million persons. A large part (nearly 60-65%) of the production is in the small/cottage sector. The annual export value poised to touch about 2 billion US dollars. India is endowed with 10% of the world raw material in terms of leather hide and export constitutes about 2% of the world trade. This sector has enormous potential for future growth.

Hidden within the statistics lie the solution to the problem of cruelty to animals. The Indian government must step in and must monitor animal transportation and implement international slaughter norms. The leather industry on its part must wake up because it can be shut down if the major importers clam down on Indian leather products on the grounds of cruelty to animals.

Finally, we can make the biggest difference. We have to be actively compassionate to animals

References and links:

petaindia.com
mcgm.gov.in

What You Should Know About Cancer

Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:32:08 +0000

A total of 1,444,920 new cancer cases and 559,650 deaths for cancers are projected to occur in the United States in 2007. Cancer still accounts for more deaths than heart disease in persons under age 85 years. From a total of 58 million deaths worldwide in 2005, cancer accounts for 7.6 million (or 13%) of all deaths.

The main types of cancer leading to overall cancer mortality are:

Lung (1.3 million deaths/year)
Stomach (almost 1 million deaths/year)
Liver (662,000 deaths/year)
Colon (655,000 deaths/year)
Breast (502,000 deaths/year)

Deaths from cancer in the world are projected to continue rising, with an estimated 9 million people dying from cancer in 2015 and 11.4 million dying in 2030.

Quick Cancer Facts

Forty percent of cancer can be prevented (by a healthy diet, physical activity and not using tobacco).
Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of cancer in the world. Tobacco use causes cancer of the lung, throat, mouth, pancreas, bladder, stomach, liver, kidney and other types; Environmental tobacco smoke (passive smoking) causes lung cancer.
One-fifth of cancers worldwide are due to chronic infections, mainly from hepatitis B viruses, causing liver cancer. The human papilloma viruses HPV cause cervical cancer. Helicobacter pylori are implicated in Stomach cancer. Parasites like schistosomes can cause bladder cancer and the liver fluke bile duct cancer.

A celebrity who conquered cancer:

Melissa Etheridge, one of the most recognizable and popular was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2004 at age 43. She underwent chemotherapy and a lumpectomy and is on the road to recovery. Melissa actually attended a Grammy award ceremony with her beautiful baldhead. Melissa said in Organic Style magazine, “People said I was courageous because I went on the Grammy’s with no hair. For me, it was just the best decision…I didn’t see it as an act of courage.”

Since the cancer diagnosis Melissa Etheridge has made some major changes in her life. She was quoted in Organic Style as saying, “When I was told I had breast cancer last October at 43, I began to change from the very second I got the diagnosis. I started listening to my body, and I became more aware of everything. With cancer, you start looking at your whole life and cutting the dark things out of it. I often say that cancer is a gift in that way.”

Melissa also reports that she loves yoga now and does it every day. And she watches what she eats, but she doesn’t use food to reward or deny herself anymore.

Having cancer does not necessarily mean that it is a death sentence. Although the incidence of cancer has been increasing, it is possible to prevent cancer and even fight it off successfully. 40% of the all cancers can be prevented by a healthy diet, which could be more vegetarian or vegan. The studies also highlight the importance of exercise in our lives and avoidance of tobacco in all its forms.

Veganism — The Way Towards A Healthier Life

Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:34:35 +0000

The western world has always advocated the use of meat, fish, poultry, grains, dairy products, fruits and vegetables for a healthy living. But recent studies have shown that this diet actually causes diseases.

More people are turning vegetarian and some are turning into vegans. Veganism is a form vegetarianism where the subjects consciously avoid diary products such as: eggs, milk, butter, etc. Vegans also avoid using fur, leather, wool and cosmetics, where the products are tested on animals.

Comparative anatomy studies of humans and carnivores

If we see the hands of human beings, they are rounded without claws suggesting that human hands are meant for pluck fruits rather than tearing flesh. The incisor teeth are meant for chewing vegetables and the human canine teeth is not well developed. The salivary secretion in humans has salivary amylase, an enzyme that is designed to digest complex vegetarian carbohydrates. The hydrochloric acid secretion from the stomach is less than 10% of that of the carnivores, suggesting that the human body is more designed to absorb and digest vegetarian food. Lastly, the length of the large intestine in carnivores is very short and it is three times longer in humans. This is perhaps one reason, why we are meant to be vegetarian.

Non-vegetarianism is dangerous

The consumption of animal fats and proteins has been linked to heart disease, colon cancers, lung cancers, diabetes, higher cholesterol levels, osteoporosis (brittleness of bones), kidney diseases, blood pressure, obesity and more recently the consumption of beef has lead to the fatal MAD COW DISEASE.

Animal agriculture and the environment

Contrary to popular beliefs, animal agriculture takes a devastating toll on the earth’s natural resources because it requires enormous amounts land, water, fertilizes and other resources to feed farm animals. It would be easier on the earth’s resources, if we all turned vegetarian.

Animals pay a heavy price for our way of living

All of us have a distorted notion that drinking milk or eating eggs does not kill animals. We seldom realize that the cows and chickens live their short lives caged, drugged, mutilated and deprived of their most basic freedom so that we can drink milk or eat eggs. Many of us are not aware that these animals are cruelly slaughtered when their production rates decline.

The four holistic food groups

A vegetarian diet would be a lot healthier and holistic.

Whole grains, which include rice, bread, pasta, corn, cereals, millets, barley are rich in fiber and other complex carbohydrates, proteins, B complex vitamins and trace elements.
Vegetables are rich in vitamin C, beta-carotene riboflavin, iron, calcium and fiber.
Legumes are all good sources of fiber, protein, iron, calcium, zinc and B vitamins. Soy milk and tofu are excellent sources of vegetable protein.
Fruits are rich in fiber, vitamin C and beta-carotene.

The meat industry has contributed to more American deaths than all wars, natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined.

Adopting a Vegan lifestyle is not easy but it provides abundant benefits to animals’ lives, to the environment, and to our own health.

Power Up with Wheat Grass — The Green BLOOD!

Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:00:18 +0000

“To the uninformed, naturopathic medicine, as well as the entire concept of natural medicine, appears to be a fad that will soon pass away. To the informed, however, it is quite clear that naturopathic medicine is at the forefront of the future.”

– Michael Murray, N.D.

Dr. Ann Wigmore, from the Hippocrates Institute in Boston, popularized wheat grass therapy. Many leading Naturopaths consider wheat grass to be a panacea on the earth.

Wheat grass is a humble weed that is a powerhouse of nutrients and vitamins for the human body. In the form of fresh juice, it has high concentrations of chlorophyll, active enzymes, vitamins and other nutrients. According to Dr. Preety Agarwal a famous Alternate therapist, one ounce of wheat grass juice is equivalent in food value to two and a half pounds of green leafy vegetables.

Chemical Composition of Wheat Grass:

Wheat grass is also called as “Green Blood” because its close structural similarity to Hemoglobin. Wheat grass contains many nutritious and prophylactic ingredients. It is rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, B, E, K, Laetrile (Vitamin B17 – which has a marked anti-cancer effect) and several useful enzymes.

Clinical uses of Wheat Grass:

Dr. Ann Wigmore found Wheat Grass useful in as many as 350 diseases.

Heart and cardio-vascular system

Anaemia
High Blood pressure
Atherosclerosis
Internal hemorrhage

Respiratory System

Common cold
Asthma
Bronchitis

Digestive system

Constipation
Dyspepsia
Nausea and vomiting
Peptic ulcer disease
Diabetes
Worm infestations

Teeth and gums

Caries
Septic gums
Bleeding gums

Joints

Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis

Brain and Nervous system

Parkinson’s disease
Weakness
Headaches

Skin diseases

Eczema
Pimples
Boils
Burns

Wheat grass therapy has also been used with great success in kidney, ear diseases and in several cancers.

How is Wheat Grass administered?

Wheat grass can be grown at home in small shallow pots. The wheat has to be sprouted first prior to sowing it. For a normal person about 100 grams of wheat grass per day are quite adequate to maintain positive health. Wheat grass can be chewed or drunk as a juice and it can also be administered as an enema. It is very important to note that the juice must be consumed as soon as it is extracted; otherwise the vital elements in the juice will lose its efficacy.

During the last ten or twenty years there has been a tremendous explosion of information in the scientific literature to support the use of natural medicine.

Wheat grass therapy teaches that is that it is nature, which cures the patient and not the physician. With the progress of civilization, we are perhaps violating the laws of nature and that is why there is an increase in disease. To be optimally effective, Wheat Grass Therapy must be combined with exercise, a stress free life and proper diet.

Why More Patients Are Seeking Holistic Physicians?

Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:25:56 +0000

Medicine is as much as an art as it is a science. Today the allopathic physicians are time strapped and do not treat the patients as a complete holistic entity –- THE MIND, BODY AND SOUL.

Physician factors:

It is time that allopathic physicians should look within and deeply introspect. Very often their own attitudes and behaviors contribute to difficult encounters with patients.

Many allopathic physicians can be:

Angry or overtly defensive.
Physicians can sometimes experience a burn out. They can get stressed and generally frustrated react negatively to patients.
Fatigued or harried physicians.
Physicians can be overworked and sleep deprived.
Dogmatic or arrogant physicians. Some physicians are dismissive about diet and alternate therapies because of their own personal prejudices.
Some physicians have strong personal beliefs and values, which prevent them from providing us with adequate information about their care.
Language problems and difficulty in communicating with patients due to a lack of a proper interpreter.
Multiple persons in the exam room can sometimes unnerve physicians.

Patients can also be at fault

Often, the time strapped allopathic physician encounter several difficult varieties of patients like:

Angry, defensive, frightened or resistant patients.
Manipulative patients who love to play on the guilt of others, threatening rage, legal action or suicide.
Somatizing patients who present with a chronic course of multiple vague or exaggerated symptoms and often suffer from co-morbid anxiety, depression and personality disorders. They often have a history of multiple diagnostic tests.
Grieving patients.
Embarrassed patients who may be lonely, dependent or too afraid or embarrassed to ask the questions they really want answered. They may also be patients with a large number of perfectly sane questions.

More and more patients are seeking the help of a Holistic physician because a Holistic MD will at first function like any other orthodox specialist. He will take a detailed history and do a clinical examination, such as pulse, BP and a complete physical examination. Then he will perform the diagnostic blood tests that any MD normally does. The initial work up may last more than an hour and this helps both the physician and the patient to understand each other and develop trust for one another.

When a patient chooses a Holistic physician, he or she has the option of trying natural complementary therapies in tandem with the allopathic treatment and this helps in elimination of the toxins in the patient and leads him to a complete and comprehensive holistic cure.

Patients with intractable health issues often search for a physician because they believe in the power of the body to heal itself, but they also recognize the need a physician who can prescribe drugs if needed.

Other patients seek holistic cures because they have exhausted all the options of conventional medicine. A holistic physician will be able to factor past therapies and then initiate a new health regimen to help patients improve their health through orthodox and alternative means.

Eating Meat Harms YOU and the PLANET

Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:39:14 +0000

According to Vernon Coleman, eating meat has health hazards because along with the meat you may be consuming hormones, drugs and other chemicals that have been fed to the animals before they were killed. No one knows precisely what effect eating the hormones in meat is likely to have on your health. Some farmers use tranquillizers to keep animals calm. When you eat meat you are, inevitably, eating those drugs. In America, over half of all antibiotics are fed to animals and it must not be a coincidence that there is a sharp rise in the percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin that have gone up from 13% in 1960 to 91% in 1988.

It is also known that vegetarians visit hospitals about 22 % less than meat eaters and have shorter hospital stays. Vegetarians tend to be fitter and healthier than meat eaters. Many of the world’s most successful athletes follow a strictly vegetarian diet.

What is not well known is that meat eating has devastating environmental consequences. Take a look at these statistics that are taken from a website called as peta2.com and then decide for yourself, whether you want to be a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian.

Open Your Eyes to these Shocking Statistics

In the U.S., animals raised for food are fed 70 percent of the corn, wheat, and other grains we grow. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth.

Land:

Of all agricultural land in the U.S., 80 percent is used to raise animals for food—that’s almost half the total landmass of the lower 48 states.

Water:

Nearly half of all the water consumed in the U.S. for all purposes is used to raise animals for food. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat, but only 60 gallons of water to produce a pound of wheat. A totally vegetarian diet requires 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day.

Pollution:

Raising animals for food causes more water pollution in the U.S. than any other industry because animals raised for food produce 130 times the excrement of the entire human population—87,000 pounds per second! Much of the waste from factory farms and slaughterhouses flows into streams and rivers, contaminating water sources.

Energy:

Of all raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S., more than one-third is used to raise animals for food. The energy needed to produce the food that a meat-eater would burn in walking a given distance is greater than the energy needed to fuel your car to travel the same distance.

Deforestation:

Each vegetarian saves an acre of trees every year! The tropical rain forests are being decimated to create grazing land for cattle. The space equivalent to seven football fields is destroyed every minute. Fifty-five square feet of rain forest may be razed to produce just one-quarter pound burger.

Celebrity Vegetarians and Vegans are on the RISE

Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:32:28 +0000

Did you know that several celebrities are vegetarians or vegans? Some of the famous vegans are Alicia Silverstone, Brian Adams, Eric Roberts the actor, Fiona Apple the singer, Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran and Natalie Portman the famous actor.

Some of most famous vegetarians include:

Albert Einstein
Aristotle the famous Greek philosopher
Billie Jean King and Chris Evert the famous tennis stars of the yesteryears
Dr. Dean Ornish and many others

One the most articulate advocates of vegetarianism is Tobey Maguire and he said that, “I don’t like eating dead carcasses pumped full of chemicals and hormones. It’s not a moral thing. It’s logical to me not to eat that shit, since I would get nauseated.” Tobey Maguire doesn’t mince words when it comes to his food and lifestyle choices.

With more and more studies coming out in recent times supporting a vegetarian way of life, the eternal debate rages on whether vegetarianism is indeed superior to a non-vegetarian diet.

Types of Vegetarians

There are three types of vegetarian:

The Vegans are the strictest type of vegetarians and they will not eat animal food or produce. They live entirely on plant foods. They take pulses, nuts, grains, fruits and vegetables.
Vegetarian who drink milk and eggs. These are called, as Lacto-Vegetarians will not eat animal flesh. They will, however, eat animal produce such as milk, cheese, eggs and four main groups.
Vegetarians who take eggs only. These are called as Lacto-ovo-vegetarians will not eat animal flesh but will eat eggs in their diet.

Advantages of a vegetarian diet:

Vegetarian diets are high in: vitamin C, fiber and folate.
It is possible to obtain all essential nutrients by eating a completely plant-based diet; however proper dietary planning is critical to the health.
Vegetarian diets are typically higher in fiber, lower in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.
Vegetarians typically have less risk of CHD, cancer, obesity, high cholesterol and hypertension.
Vegetarian lifestyles are usually healthier because of lesser smoking, more exercise and less alcohol ingestion.

Disadvantages of a vegetarian diet:

Some nutritional authorities feel that Vegetarians (vegans) find it difficult to get certain nutrients like:

Vitamin B-12. (These are found more in fortified cereals and soy products)
Vitamin D ( Soymilk and cereals are rich sources)
Iron & zinc (These are found in whole grain, soy foods, beans, dried foods, nuts and seeds)
Calcium (Good sources are cereals, juices, beans, tofu, soy foods, figs and other dried fruits)

Slowly the wheel is turning in favor of vegetarianism. According to a statistics from the recent — Consumer Attitudes to Food Standards Survey, 4% of households reportedly contained at least one vegetarian member. 5% contained at least one person who ate no meat, but did eat fish.

Some authorities on nutrition do not recommend a vegan diet for very young children because it is very difficult for them consume pulses, cereals nuts etc and achieve optimal growth without consuming animal products.