Christian Vegetarian Association Blog - Monday, September 21, 2009


	CVA BLOG

CVA Blog
Monday, September 21, 2009

Is Our Food Nourishing to Our Bodies?

1. MRSA in the Supermarket
2. Famous Quote – Arthur Schopenhauer
3. Fish Linked to Type 2 Diabetes
4. Bible verse – Colossians 4:5-6
5. Vitamin D in a Plant-Based Diet
6. This Week’s Video

1. MRSA in the Supermarket

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a form of staph bacteria that resists antibiotics (including methicillin), making it hard to treat, even lethal. It is widely known that MRSA can be contacted in hospitals, at gyms or community centers. However, news studies suggest that MRSA might be thriving in the meat isle of the supermarket. Researcher Tara Smith, PhD, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa, studied two large Midwestern hog farms and found the strain, ST398, in 45% of farmers and 49% of pigs. Cooking kills the microbe, but MRSA thrives on skin, so you can contract it by touching infected raw meat when you have a cut on your hand, or in nasal passages, so touching your nose after touching meat gives the bug another way into your body. To read the full article please search online for The superbug in your supermarket

Bacteria and viruses easily mutate in the crowded environments of factory farms. Besides causing unimaginable suffering to God’s farmed animals, we are also managing to create dangerous bugs that threat our health and the health of the generations to come. The transition to a plant-based diet is an effective way to avoid many diseases and to show compassion to God’s farmed animals.

2. Famous Quote

"All truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 –1860), German philosopher.

3. Fish Linked to Type 2 Diabetes

A new Harvard study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition links fish and omega-3 oil consumption to type 2 diabetes. Following 195,204 adults for 14 to18 years, researchers found that the more fish or omega-3 fatty acids participants consumed, the higher their risk of developing diabetes. The risk increase was modest for occasional fish eaters, but rose to a 22 percent increased risk for women consuming five or more fish servings per week. To read the full article please search online for Fish and fish oil linked to diabetes risk

4. This Week’s Bible Verse

(RSV) Colossians 4:5-6
"Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one."

Our witness to the love of Christ for all Creation is effective when communicating in a respectful, gracious and loving way. When we share with others how a plant-based diet honors God's Creation let's remember to do it in peace, love and harmony.

5. Vitamin D in a Plant-Based Diet

Vitamin D is needed for healthy bones, but it also may play a role in reducing cancer risk and depression. Although our bodies can make it with adequate sun exposure, most mainstream products—like breakfast cereals—contain vitamin D3 (derived from animals) and a growing number of vegetarian foods, including soy and other nondairy milks, are fortified with D2 (derived from bacteria). There are also D2 supplements in nongel caps available now. To read the full article please search online for Vegan 101: Can you get enough vitamin D without milk?

6. This Week’s Video

This excerpt from a presentation give by Dr. Dean Ornish in 2006 helps understand the magnitude of the devastation that the typical American diet has caused in the health of the people in America and in those countries were our diet has also been adopted. Please visit http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dean_ornish_on_the_world_s_killer_diet.html.

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