The critical veg issue of Vitamin B12 (1)

A B12 artcile extracted from
PCRM's quarterly mag
Good Medicine

The Vitamin B12 issue among the vegetarian circle is not a news anymore,
but it is worrying that many veg are still under/mis-informed
about Vitamin B12.

Every now and then I come across vegetarians/vegans
facing the crisis of B12 deficiency unknowingly
(ie totally unaware of B12 issue).
It's even more worrying when I sometimes encounter
B12-deficiency-prone vegs who think that
they have taken enough care on their B12 intake.
(ie mistaken of the source of B12)

This is actually quite a risky issue to be taken lightly,
as it affects the basic health and life quality of a veg,
and may consequently affect the image of veg community as whole.

Hence would like to share
some simplified but important concepts of Vit B12 here,
in the hope of raising sufficient awareness among the vegs and
and clarifying some mis-information about B12:



What is B12?

- B12 is an essential vitamin, under Vit B family,
which is not synthesized by our body (in significant amount),
for maintence of our bodily metabolism (ie day to day body functions).

- the uptake of viable amount of Vit B12 has be from external source
(via food or via limited internal gut flora)



Why do we need B12?

- B12 plays multiple important roles in our basic bodily functions,
in collaboration with B6, and B9 and other co-factors.
e.g. nervous system maintenance, blood cell formation and body mass building

- when our body is lack of B12, our nerves will suffer from irreversible damage
(ie permanent and incurable), leading to inefficient brain functions and stress handling.

- because B12 is quite efficiently recycled in our body (except diseased cases),
a new veg will not observe much effect from gradual B12 deprivation within the first 4-5 years.
In other words, B12 will only drop to critical level after 4-5 years later,
if a person stop B12 intake from today..

- before the 4-5 years "due date", a B12-deficient individual
may also suffer from anemia (because blood formation is affected),
but it's not easy to pin point at B12, because it could be iron deficiency too.

- there are some veg after going through a long time veg diet that is lack of B12
who seem to be unable to put on body mass (lean protein mass),
no matter how much protein-rich food he/she takes in and how hard he/she trains.
This is also because the lack of blood nourishment and
participation of B12 in protein anabolism.


...to be continued




Well regards,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

The-critical-veg-issue-of-Vitamin-B12
{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Maximising the usage of a piece of paper

A friend of mine, Eric, was sharing with me
that his kid was taught at school
how to make good use of a one-sided used paper,
by doing some simple origami tricks.

Although I already have a habit of
using the blank side of used paper,
I find that this origami technique
converting a 1-side-used A4 paper
into 8 pages of all clean mini booklet
really useful.

Usually when I use the blank side of a used paper as draft paper,
I tend to write draw/write randomly
across the wide surface, hence wasting a lot blank space.
When an A4 paper is folded into a mini 8-page booket,
it kind of restraints my "font size" and makes better use of the space
-- maximising the space usage (even tho' it's used draft paper).. hehehe..

I have been using these mini booklet (pocket size) for 4 months now,
and I feel good squeezing out the maximum blank space of a used paper =)
Hence would like to share this with my friends here,
in line with environmental conservation.

This kind gesture for Mother Earth is a tiny one,
but I believe it will have a ripple effect
in other parts of our lives,
to be more environmental conscious,
when we constantly get reminded by
these mini-booklets carried in our pockets everyday!!

Here are the protocols.
If a 1-sided-used paper is used, there will be 8 clean pages,
if a totally blank paper is used, then there will be 16 clean mini pages!!

8-16page mini-booklet origami:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2281936_minibook-one-sheet-paper.html

If you really have tiny hand writing, can try the advanced version..:P :P
16-32page mini-booklet origami:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1000304/make_a_book_16_pages_just_one_piece_of_paper_100_origami_w/


With metta,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Interpreting the good will of an Ex-Vegan (3)

Our body manufactures
its own cholesterol,
hence void the need
of external intake. 

Another argument that my friend parroted from the ex-vegan author
was that:

E.g.3. Cholesterol is good, as it is the body's substance for self-repair.
-- Knowing that the major external source of cholesterol is from animal-based food,
the statement above was justifying that it's beneficial to take food of animal-origin.

>> same drill, it doesn't paint a complete picture:

>> Cholesterol-related cardiovascular diseases has long been
used by vegetarian advocates as a reason to advise against animal-based food.
but sometimes it is not adequately explained.

>> Cholesterol is a naturally occurring and essential metabolite
that is important for our well being (cell division, hormonal balance etc).
Our body can synthesise it ourselves.

>> By taking in improper amount of cholesterol via animal-based foods,
it will upset the delicate balance/ratio of the cholesterol subtypes (HDL, LDL etc),
hence subjecting ourselves to the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

>> The take home message from the ex-vegan author is that
vegetarians/vegans should continue to take good plant fats
to support the manufacture of our own cholesterol
to maintain a healthy body.


Deep down, it's an endless debate between animal-based and plant-based diets.
By harping on scientific findings to prove that one diet is more beneficial/natural than another
may just be a convenient way to enhance one's pre-existing beliefs (either animal or plant-inclined).
It's not comprehensive and actually do little in convincing people (by my personal prejudice)

Going veg naturally will face some hurdles.
Instead of taking a convenient excuse to switch to flesh
(which will then bring another set of problems),
we could persist to embrace a diet that do good
to our environment, our animals and our generations to come,
while putting in effort to solve the problems of
improper eating habit, food preparation and food manufacturing.
(which are the factors that truly compromise the quality of vegetarian diet).


By good will,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com



{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Interpreting the good will of an Ex-Vegan (2)



Low GI whole grains protects
vegetarians from diabetes

My friend found the book convincing because the author provided a lot of scientific reasonings.
A scientific observation may be solid,
but it remains a superficial phenomenon if we do not fit a good purpose behind.
Ultimately, it's the interpretation that matters.
By good will, shall we communicate, be it through voice or via pen.

A second plant-based issue that my friend pointed out was
(as per the ex-vegan author explained):

E.g.2. "A diet rich in carbohydrates wears out the body's ability to regulate blood sugar. eventually leading to type 2 diabetes. The book claims that there is no difference between simple and complex carbohydrates."
>> based on the above statement, vegetarian who is naturally carbo-inclined (due to no meat intake), would have been exposed to high risk of Type 2 Diabetes.

>> Again, the scientific facts provided was partially true,
but it doesn't paint out a complete picture.


>> Although insulin-dependent Type 2 Diabetes
is related to constant and overwhelming sugar spike in the blood,
sugar intake is not exactly the root of diabetes.

>> It is true that scientific evidences showed that simple and complex carbohydrates
do not necessary relate, respectively, to faster and slower sugar absorption into bloodstream.
There are examples like fructose (a simple sugar) elevate the blood sugar level slowly,
while complex sugar like starch (when processed) can spike up the blood sugar level very quickly.

>> Hi-carbo vegetarians hence need to take note of
the Glycemic Index (GI) of the carbo food they are taking.
The lower the GI, the slower the sugar get absorbed into blood stream,
hence harmonising with the feedback mechanism of insulin (i.e. won't cause diabetes).
>> Foods with low GI are unrefined whole grains
(tho' they are starchy, but the fibre and minerals in the cereal brans lower the GI).
Vegetarians are absolutely safe to go big on whole grains carbo.

>> The ex-vegan author was simply reminding fellow vegetarians/vegans
not to take processed and refined carbo (be it simple or complex).

>> Ultimately, it's a matter of correct food preparation and correct eating,
nothing to do with veg or non-veg.


Well regards,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com


p/s: The whole issue of Type II diabetes is more complicated than just a sugar-centric issue.
I will be writing a blog series on diabetes in near future, especially to point out,
diabetes is ironically more related to protein and fats intake!




{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Interpreting the good will of an Ex-Vegan (1)

Albert Einstein became
a vegetarian two years before
he passed away.

I have a friend whom I have known for quite a while
and who has been a vegetarian for 4-5 years and 
recently became a vegan.

This friend of mine is a special one,
as he started his veg path since secondary school days
and with that type of supposedly-less-supportive environment
during school days,
he persisted his ideal; -- that is very admirable.

We had  some email communication recently
and he told me that he had been reading a book from a former vegan
advising against 100% full veg.
And hence he became a bit confused
especially when he felt a bit weak after going vegan for a few months,
suspecting if his condition corresponds with the ex-vegs' experience.

He pointed out a few issues raised by the ex-vegan author
to convince that some components from the plant-based diet could be bad:

E.g.1. Unsaturated fats (from plants) are bad,  because is more reactive than saturated fats (from animals), causing cancer and damages blood vessels.

-- base on the statement above, vegetarians/vegans would have naturally and constantly
been exposed to high amount of bad fats.
>> This hold some truth to some extent. But it's not a complete story.

>> Many people nowadays have been serious mistakened
that all plant fats are good and all animal fats are bad.
Now there are some people who go to the other extreme
to twist the whole story around claiming animal fats is healthier than plant fats.
Both are not completely correct.

>> As mentioned in previous blog series "The Fats of Life",
Plant fat is not always good fat, because once high-temperature-heated,
the unsaturated fats in plant will become damaged and cause health problems.
Most of the plant-based cooking oils sold out there
are already deep-fried before packaging (to preserve for a longer time).
Hence, it seems like taking plant oil nowadays is worse than
consuming animal fats (if moderately heated).

>> The point the ex-vegan author was trying to advise was
to remind vegetarians/vegans to choose quality plant oil and avoid high-heat treatment.

>>When plant fats are consumed in natural form (ie direct from food) or cold pressed form,
plant fats are definitely better than animal fats (Why? Please see "The Fats of Life").

>>The whole issue lies on the correct way of consuming fats,
nothing to do with a vegetarian diet.


With metta,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com




{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Bee Organic before too late!

2 years ago,
when I was at Shen Shi'an's talk
at the Holistic Wellness Symposium 2009,
I was first educated how
bee could be a sensitive indicator
to environmental toxity.

When more and more chemicals are used as pesticides
under the name of "efficient food production to feed the expanding human population"
we are actually worsening the production sustainability day by day.

The bees population has been reported slumping dramatically
due to the abuse of pesticides
and few people know
that bees actually contribute to majority (90%) of pollenation in the nature.
Without the bees, simply there is no fruit, no grain and no propagation of vegetation.

This ties to the emphasis of supporting organic agriculture.
When discussing organic food,
many a time people overly focus on the personal health perspective,
but pay little attention to the environmental health which is equally important.

When insufficient effort is put into maintaining the environmental health,
we are not only facing the consequence of unhealthy food, but also,
the crisis of food supply (due to lack of pollenating bees dying from harmful pesticides),
then the rocketing food prices and
eventually may be the compromised survival of humanity.

Avaaz.org recently initiated a petition to ban harmful chemicals being used as pesticides
to prevent further decline of bees.
You may want to do a bit of well wishing to Mother Earth via
this link :)
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?vl



Well regards,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}

Adjusting towards a holistic life path (8)

While my new life now is gradually settling down
after the "turbulent" last quarter of 2010,
I am beginning to feel recharged and refreshed :)

Life wise, I am getting little bit more organised,
and getting more disciplined
(waking up before 5.30am every morning!
-- how I enjoy being an early bird now :D )

Work wise, I am catching up with new skills
on how to identify diseases of trees,
learning about the life cycles of insects and fungus,
as well as the behaviour of plant viral infection patterns.
(-- I got a lot of inspiration from these small organisms!)


The next episode

When I am finally fully recharged,
the next steps would be

(||) writing my second book on Vegetarian Basics (a long overdue project),
      -- three boddhisatvas have already promised to fully fund the printing of this book
          so that this book would benefit the broad public at zero cost.

(||) designing course syllabi for The Veg School (opening in Sept '11)
      -- cracking my head to come up with creative content and
          audience-ngaging teaching techniques for the benefits of TVS students. 

 and

(||) continue to upgrade myself with financial education (which I am very weak in).
     -- will be attending intermediate level Forex trading course after CNY and
         participating in Eker's Guerilla Business Intensive workshop in June
         to improve financial wellness.


Grounded in gratitude

For the past few months,
I am very happy that I took the leap
to step out of my comfort zone,
going through some strain,
to re-adjust my lifetyle and to re-align my spiritual core
towards a more holistic being.

During the process, I am particularly grateful
to my family, friends, partners, ex-colleagues and new colleagues
who have been supportive for the change and
have been patient with the inconveniences and interruption
that I likely have imposed on their life paths.

Thank you for lending a listening ear on this series of blog.
I hope, by being honestly out-spoken in cyber public
will concrete my promise to the benefit all sentient beings
and strengthen the bond/understanding between myself and readers.

May all be well in the new year of 2011.


By good will,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com


{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}