"But I just can't give up cheese!" I hear this frequently. Why are we addicted to animal-based foods? If they are so unhealthy, how come these foods not only taste delicious, but provide happiness and comfort? The answer is the Pleasure Trap: Instinctively, we have 3 main objectives: 1) Seek pleasure (food, sex, etc...) 2) Avoid pain/failure 3) Conserve energy All living organisms have these programed into their DNA for the purpose of increasing the likelihood of survival and reproduction. Eating animal products delivers significantly more calories than what our homosapien bodies are programmed to expect. Naturally our minds respond positively to this because we now have all these extra calories we can store in our bodies in case there is a famine, thus broadening our chances of survival, triggering a flood of dopamine (the same hormone released while using addictive drugs). The message being sent to our brains is that we are being very biologically successful. That may have made the difference between survival and extinction in the early days of man, but today (where extinction and famines aren't an issue anymore) we are sicker and fatter than ever; in a very real sense we are slowly killing ourselves. For a lot of Americans, the idea of eating mostly plants for the rest of their lives is absolutely dreadful. "You take all the happiness out of eating!" they argue. Doug Lisle put together this chart below.
Stage I symbolizes how originally it is normal for humans to eat natural, whole plants; they taste good and give us all our nutrients, and we are happy. Stage II represents the euphoric experience of transitioning from plants to foods high in fat, salt, sugar, cholesterol, low in fiber, etc. We all know how unhealthy foods can provide pleasure as the dopamine is released, but once that becomes a consistent diet in our lifestyle, we adopt this new diet and adapt so in Stage III it becomes "normal" for us to eat meat everyday. This is called habituation or neuroadaptation, just like how we notice the smell of a candle once we enter a room, but after 20 minutes we don't notice it anymore. Eventually we reach a point of a humbling paradigm-shift. We learn the truths of nutrition that we were previously receiving lightly, if at all. We realize diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, etc. are linked to eating lots of animal products and we understand we need to make a change. Stage IV expresses the emotional shift from eating animal products, to wholesome plants. We undergo a lack of pleasure from just eating plants and suffer from withdrawals. "I miss my cheese!" I experienced this. The struggle is real. For a sense of strength I had to cling to the knowledge that eating this way will produce a much healthier lifestyle. Finally, Stage V shows that eating a mostly plant-based diet will eventually make us happy and become a normal thing. Eating plants won't be miserable. Our tastebuds literally adjust in sensitivity so even the subtle flavors we couldn't realize before become satisfying. I have learned dozens of delicious recipes that bring me joy. Your sense of self-discipline will also add to your happiness, as well as the assurance that you will never have to worry about contracting many of the chronic health conditions millions of Americans fall victim to.
Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, or straight-up carnivore, having a balanced diet takes effort, especially as a college student. To ensure your plant-based diet is properly balanced, use this Power Plate by PCRM as a guide. Each day, try to get some of each food group. With the money you will be saving no longer buying meat, eggs, dairy, and heavily processed foods, you can eat plant-based whole foods while spending the same amount of money on groceries as you were before (not to mention saving thousands more dollars down the road in healthcare). Take a week and plan out your menu. Here are some ideas if you don't plan on eating meat that day: Breakfast Toast with jam Bran cereal with almond milk Pancakes Apple cinnamon raisin oatmeal Fruit Smoothie Sweet potato hash
Sure, there are several environmental benefits to switching to eating mostly plants, but can one person make much of difference? You'd be surprised. Without turning into an activist, you can (and should) care at least a little bit about the environment. But ultimately, changing your diet isn’t a political statement. If eating plant-based is appealing to you simply because of the health benefits, there's nothing wrong with that. It’s just a personal statement saying “I care about my health, so I took the time to investigate the risks and benefits of this diet with an open mind. Oh hey, tree. Cute leaves.”
If helping the environment is important to you, you can learn how this diet affects the planet by reading articles by Bruce Monger. This video pretty much sums it up nicely. There are those who find pleasure in shooting animals; they look forward to their next kill so they can hold it by the antlers and pose for a picture. They love the adrenaline and like the taste of animal carcass. There's no point in arguing with these narrow-minded individuals - they are left to kick against the pricks trying to combat reversing heart disease and cancer with the impressive comeback, "But... bacon!" Any sound, objective mind can discern the intelligent from the lack thereof.
I wish I knew the difference between the “right way” to eat plant-based and the “wrong way” back when I first started. I remember buying a Little Caesar's pizza and scraping the cheese off thinking, "Yeah! I'm doing it!" No . . . I wasn't even close.
Some of my people will eat food that, although may not come from animals, is heavily processed and quite unwholesome. Here are some examples: Unhealthy Plant-food French fries Soda pop/alcohol/coffee Potato chips White flour tortillas White loaf of bread that you can squeeze together like an accordian Oil Oreos Fake meat/cheese Onion rings Flavored Quick Oats Yellow Spaghetti Healthy Plants Water, almond milk, natural juices Unprocessed legumes Whole wheat flour tortillas Brown rice Whole wheat, whole grain bread Leafy greens Rinsed beans Fresh fruit/vegetables Whole grains Old-fashioned oats Whole wheat spaghetti noodles
