The World Peace Diet: Eating For Spiritual Health And Social Harmony

90 / the world peace diet
may feel worse for a few weeks as we cleanse, but the benefits of the
change are clear, as Andrew Weil observes: “Studies consistently show
vegetarians to be healthier and longer-lived than meat eaters.” 51
The third reason some of us have difficulty switching to a plantbased
diet is that we don’t know how to prepare vegan meals that are
tasty, nutritious, and convenient. It’s quite easy to do, but there is learning
and unlearning to go through. Fortunately, there is an everincreasing
supply of vegan and vegetarian cookbooks, cooking classes,
groups, programs, and convenience foods. For one thing, we may give
up flesh and continue to eat dairy products and eggs. These products
contain at least as much cruelty, toxins, cholesterol and animal protein
as flesh does, so little improvement will likely be noticed. (This is why
it may be best for some not to switch gradually to a completely plantbased
way of eating, but to do it all at once. Becoming a “pescovegetarian,”
for example, and continuing to eat dairy, eggs, and fish,
we may find we’ve given up enough to be irritated but not enough to
notice any appreciable improvement in our body-mind.) We are also
unlikely to notice significant improvement if we switch to a completely
plant-based diet but favor vegan junk food—loaded with hydrogenated
fats, white flour, white sugar, artificial sweeteners, preservatives,
and chemicals.
It’s simple and easy to get all the nutrients we need on a plant-based
diet. Eating a variety of vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes, and fruits will
ensure that we get the vitamins, minerals, and protein we need for optimum
health. The two primary substances that a vegan diet may be lacking
are vitamin B-12 and omega-3 fatty acids. Vitamin B-12 is a naturally
occurring substance that is plentiful in our soil and water and that
we now may have difficulty obtaining in sufficient supply only because
modern methods of water purification and of industrial food washing
remove it from our plant foods and drinking water. A regular supplement
is therefore recommended, and is easily obtained in fortified soy
milk and other vegan products. And because of our modern food refining
practices that over-supply us with omega-6 fatty acids, it’s a good
idea for vegans to eat walnuts and flax seeds or flax oil for essential
omega-3 fatty acids. Two tablespoons of ground flax seeds daily is con-