Christian Vegetarian Association Blog - Monday, October 23, 2006


	CVA BLOG

CVA Blog
Monday, October 23, 2006

The Health Benefits of a Plant-based Diet

Welcome to the weekly CVA blog! In it you will find famous quotes, news and commentaries.

1. Treatment for hypertension – PCRM’s fact sheet

2. Famous quote – William Castelli, M.D., director, Framingham Heart Study, the longest-running
clinical study in medical history

3. Human poison in chicken feed

4. Bible verse – Genesis 1:29

5. Hormones in farmed animals

6. Sport personalities -- Scott Jurek (pictured above), seven-time winner of the Western States marathon and two-time winner of the Badwater Ultramarathon

1. Treatment for hypertension: Many people suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure), which increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes, among others. A balanced plant-based diet low in sodium has been found effective in reducing high blood pressure. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has put together a fact sheet with very useful information about this condition and its treatment.

You can read it and download it at http://www.pcrm.org/health/prevmed
/high_blood_pressure.html
Share it with family and friends!

2. Famous quote: “Vegetarians have the best diet. They have the lowest rates of coronary disease of any group in the country ... they have a fraction of our heart attack rate, and they have only 40 percent of our cancer rate.” — William Castelli, M.D., director, Framingham Heart Study, the longest-running clinical study in medical history.

3. Human poison in chicken feed: According to Gwen Cox who raised broiler chickens for Pilgrim’s Pride from 2001 to 2004, she was forced to use poultry feed provided by the company.

She remembers a few incidents during which she felt nauseous and with bouts of cough while working with the feed. After these episodes she decided to check the label listing the ingredients and noticed it contained roxarsone, an organic arsenic compound. Very concerned about her health and her chickens, she inquired at Pilgrim’s Pride the reason for it and was told to mind her own business for roxarsone is “a microbe inhibitor and is proven to be safe in the quantity used in the feed.” Roxarsone has been found to prevent the growth of microscopic intestinal parasites called coccidia that frequently infect livestock, and it provides the added bonus of bigger chickens.
Unfortunately over 70% of chickens in the US are fed roxarsone and the consequences might be disastrous since once ingested by the chickens it remains distributed throughout the animal’s tissues (later eaten by consumers) and the rest is excreted unchanged in poultry waste.

The environmental risks are in that 90% of this manure is later converted into fertilizer that can contaminate crops, lakes, rivers, and even drinking water. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates drinking water, arsenic is a class A carcinogen, meaning that data have definitively shown arsenic to cause cancer.

To read the full article please visit http://scienceline.org/2006/09/20/env-wenner-arsenic/

4. Genesis 1:29 - And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.”

God’s ideal diet for us showed compassion and a loving harmonious existence among all creatures.

5. Hormones in farmed animals: Christians should have no doubts that our disobedience to respect and to take care of God’s creation is bringing misery to us in many ways. In the case of the following article, it is misery to our own bodies, temples of the Holy Spirit.

There is more concern and evidence that growth and sex hormones in beef can cause genital abnormalities in boys, and early onset of puberty in girls. According to British Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) member and chemical expert John Verall, who defied a government gag order, there is evidence showing a rise in the rates of breast and prostate cancer in the United States.

In this country, two-thirds of all cattle are pumped full of hormones. Another concern is that, although on papers the European Union prohibits the use of hormones in cattle, there are doubts as to whether this has been enforced, due to the lack of testing for hormone residue in beef imported to the EU.

To read the full article please visit http://www.NewsTarget.com/019557.html

6. Sport personalities: (Pictured above) Scott Jurek, seven-time winner of the Western States marathon and two-time winner of the Badwater Ultramarathon (including this year’s), gives a lot of credit to his plant-based diet. Let’s keep in mind that the Badwater Ultramarathon Covers 135 miles (217km) non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, CA in temperatures up to 130F (55C), making it the most demanding and extreme running race offered anywhere on the planet.

Jurek, a vegan athlete, competes in 10-12 marathons per year and is living proof that even world-class athletes can thrive without any animal protein in their diet.

To read more about Jurek please visit http://www.scottjurek.com/bio.php

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