Vegetarian Star

Mike Tyson has been seen out and about since announcing he’s become a vegan and TMZ thinks the boxing legend has slimmed down from his diet.

The site also take a stab at Tyson’s new eating habits, saying, “So long Iron Mike … hello, Iron Deficient Mike!”

So disappointing, considering TMZ’s Harvey Levin was showing off a vegan wallet months ago.

If you think being vegetarian or vegan means iron deficiency and weakness, you need to watch your Popeye episodes because all the sailor man ate was spinach and he never missed a beat!

Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has this to say about meatless diets and iron:

“Iron balance tends to be better on pure vegetarian diets than on other diets. Green leafy vegetables and legumes (beans, peas, and lentils) are rich in a form of iron that is more absorbable if your body needs more iron and less absorbable when your body already has plenty of iron. Avoiding dairy products helps, because they contain virtually no iron and can actually inhibit iron absorption.”

And Dr. Neal Pinckney from The Healing Heart Foundation adds this:

“Most vegetarian diets are high in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which increases iron absorption up to six times, making the absorption of plant-based iron as good or better than animal-based iron.”

The next obvious step is to double check the list of vegetarian sources of iron to make sure you’re buying the right foods at the grocery store.

Then send a copy of the list to TMZ.

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South Beach Diet

Every vegan has one dairy free, coconut oil icing cupcake too many every now and then.

When it’s time to watch calories to lose a pound or two, you need to know what diet plans are veggie friendly.

PETA has graded several popular diets and the South Beach Diet comes out a winner receiving a “B” grade.

If South Beach prepared foods that didn’t contain dairy, it would have received and “A.”

Recipes like edamame salad and vegetarian chili are easy to veganize, and the South Beach plan is based on cooking at home.

Looks like Slimfast is going to have to repeat a grade or two, considering it was the only plan that received an “F.” Shakes and bars are BORING, plus there’s that whole 10 million shake recall from 2009 due to a bacteria issue.

Visit PETA’s blog to learn what other diet plans might be right for a pleasantly plump veg.

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Dr. Oz and Real Age expert Dr. Michael Roizen tackle the question of raw versus cooked in a piece of advice to a reader who wants to know if there are any benefits to eating raw and drinking distilled water.

The doctors are cool with raw, but emphasize that it’s not necessary and sometimes more beneficial if you eat vegetables cooked.

For example, steaming tomatoes brings out the lycopene, an important nutrient in fighting heart disease.

And steaming carrots and broccoli make the cancer fighting carotenoids easier to be absorb by the body.

Steamed vegetables also soak up bile, so the liver has to make more, which helps you get rid of LDL or “bad” cholesterol.

“But the main reason we don’t like extreme diets is that they deprive you of important nutrients,” the doctors answer. “If you’re eating only raw veggies, you’re almost certainly going to run short of protein and vitamin B-12, fast.”

And save the distilled water for ironing clothes.

“As for drinking distilled water, well, it’s usually made by boiling. While that strips out impurities, it also strips out minerals like calcium. Our opinion: Fuggedaboutit, unless you’re drinking four more glasses of non-distilled water a day. Then just do it if you like the taste better.”

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The most unhealthy school lunch sitting in the cafeteria these days is beef and cheese nachos.

Given the amount of animal fat, cholesterol and dairy in such a meal, it’s easy to understand why.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine analyzed the school lunches on menus from 18 elementary schools across the country and found meatloaf and potatoes, cheeseburgers, cheese sandwiches and pepperoni pizza didn’t trail far behind the beefy nachos.

A bill introduced by representative Jared Polis, the Healthy School Meals Act or H.R. 4870, is trying to change this.

If passed, it would provide funds to school districts to purchase healthier items and place more vegetarian entrees and non dairy beverages on the menus.

H.R. 4870 can’t come soon enough!

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President Barack Obama received a report that says Americans buying and eating organic can reduce their exposure to environmental chemicals that increase their risk of cancer.

In the report, titled “Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now,” the President’s Cancer Panel says that exposure to these chemicals is minimal in organic foods and consumers should verify the product is organic by looking for the USDA label.

“The American people — even before they are born — are bombarded continually with myriad combinations of these dangerous exposures,” the letter said. “The Panel urges you most strongly to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our Nation’s productivity, and devastate American lives.”

“Many known or suspected carcinogens first identified through studies of industrial and agricultural occupational exposures have since found their way into soil, air, water and numerous consumer products… Some of these chemicals have been found in maternal blood, placental tissue, and breast milk samples from pregnant women and mothers who recently gave birth. Thus, chemical contaminants are being passed on to the next generation, both prenatally and during breastfeeding.”

Now that the government has given the thumbs up to organic, let’s hope for an overhaul in the food system to make it more affordable and accessible to all!

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The Benedictine Women of Wisconsin are living in the greenest building in America after the ecumenical order’s new Holy Wisdom Monastery received the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest ever rating for sustainable construction.

Now, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking the sisters to take reducing their carbon footprint even further by serving vegan meals at the monastery.

Hopefully, the sisters have forgotten about that naked Joanna Krupa and the cross ad for pet adoption that angered the Catholic League.

What’s cool is that the sisters should also know adopting such a diet may not have adverse affects on their bone health, according to a study discussed in Science Daily.

The study, published in Osteoporosis International, found the bone densities of 105 vegan post menopausal women who were Buddhists nuns were identical to non vegetarians despite their calcium intake being lower.

Of course, calcium can be easily supplemented by consuming soy or almond milk, orange juice with calcium or calcium rich vegetable foods like kale.

But more factors than calcium play a role in bone health, such as magnesium, present in green vegetables.

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Dr. Andrew Weil, author and integrative medicine pioneer, discusses the dangers of pesticides in food, especially fruits and vegetables in this clip that also shows the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen,” list of produce you should always buy organic.

Organic fruits and veggies won’t be found in the $1 aisle, so when the budget is tight, it’s a good idea to keep this list handy to know what you can away with.

We should probably be following Dr. Weil’s advice on the dirty dozen, which is if he can’t get organic versions of them, he doesn’t eat them.

“A lot of these chemicals are toxic to the nervous system. Other may disrupt endocrine function in the body. They may increase risk of cancer and other chronic diseases,” Dr. Weil explains in the video.

Dr. Weil says data exists that shows people who eat organic have lower measurable pesticide levels in their tissues.

Like other data, the “Dirty Dozen” list is updated, and the Environmental Working Group has unveiled the 2010 list.

Dirty Dozen–Always Buy Organic
1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Bell Peppers
8. Spinach
9. Kale
10. Cherries
11. Potatoes
12. Grapes

Cleanest–Lowest in Pesticides, Buy Conventional When You Have To
1. Onions
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mangos
6. Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Cantalouope
12. Watermelon
13. Grapefruit
14. Sweet Potato
15. Honeydew Melon

You can download the wallet guide and there’s an iphone application coming soon.

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Lea Michele "Asos Magazine"

Lea Michele is on the cover of the May 2010 issue of Asos Magazine.

Inside, starting on page 75 is an interview with the Glee actress, where she reveals that she is currently a macrobiotic vegan. To the disappointment of vegetarians and vegans, she may soon become a pescatarian as she’s reintroducing fish into her diet.

Michele may feel she needs the fish protein for her health, as she’s also been giving herself B12 shots.

The National Institutes of Health lists sources of B12 from foods on its website.

The effects of B12 deficiency may include anemia, fatigue, and neurological symptoms such as numbness and tingling of the hands and feet.

While vegetarians can get B12 from dairy sources like yogurt and milk, it’s been argued that vegans may run into problems and often need supplements.

However, looking at the list of NIH sources reveals fortified cereals as one of the top three, with only beef liver and clams ahead.

Whether you’re a vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian or something in between, try starting your next morning with a bowl of granola or wheat bran flakes cereal drenched in cold, refreshing soy milk.

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