Can you get your holiday festive menu plans in place without the bird, the swine or the bovine? Of course, you can, and the Musgraves family of North St. Louis County showed The American just how they do it. Courtney LaRue Musgraves was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 24. At age 33, he needed to do something different to find relief and he started cutting out animal products from his diet.
It took him about six months to do it, after which his wife and daughters joined in – after he cooked them one last juicy and delicious turkey for Thanksgiving. His commitment to veganism changed his family’s appetite for good.
“We saw that he was truly committed and he had cooked this turkey for us – if he could do it we, could too because we too wanted to live longer,” his wife Dionne Musgraves said. “We stopped looking at veganism as a diet or a fad and started looking at it as a life change. It was a journey that was going to allow all of us to be healthier and happier.”
Vegan and vegetarian diets are healthier, if you are eating whole grains, legumes, vegetables, seeds and nuts – and if you are not loading down on animal-free sweets, cookies, French fries or processed foods and unhealthy fats.
Read nutrition labels. Food choices should be planned carefully to provide enough protein vitamins and minerals the body needs. That includes vitamins B-12 and D, calcium, iron, zinc and protein. The USDA says the amount of protein you need to eat depends on your age, gender and level of physical activity. For sedentary lifestyles, it is about 46 grams of protein per day for women and 56 grams a day for men.
There are different types of vegetarians. A vegan or total vegetarian diet includes only foods from plants: fruits, vegetables, beans, peas and legumes, grains, seeds and nuts. Lactovegetarian diets include plants, cheese and dairy products. Ovo lacto or lacto ovo vegetarians add eggs to their diet. Semi-vegetarians don’t eat red meat.
Musgraves said his non-vegan friends are always surprised at how satisfying complete plant-based meals can be.
The American Heart Association says healthful benefits of a vegetarian diet include lower risks of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and even some forms of cancer.
And about his arthritis pain? LaRue Musgraves said, “I haven’t had a flare-up since I removed animal products.” That was four years ago.
“It has totally subsided,” he said. “I work out again. No aches and pains – I don’t have a popping of the joints anymore. I don’t have the swelling, the inflammation anymore. I don’t get the fevers and chills anymore.”
He also quit smoking and started meditating.
“Our health outcomes: being released from allergies, skin issues (pimples) and joint pain,” she described. “And sleep – we rest. We used to sleep three or four hours, we now sleep a good six to seven hours.”
The body restores and refreshes itself during sleep.
“Blood pressure is low, where it should be and within range. No more ailments,” she added. “A lot of ailments that plague the black community are due to dietary habits.”
The bottom line is you don’t have to eat animals to get enough protein in your diet. The AHA says plant proteins can provide enough essential and non-essential amino acids, as long as sources of dietary protein are varied and caloric intake is high enough to meet energy needs. Additionally, soy protein is comparable to proteins of animal origin.
Find out more from the Vegetarian Resource Group at http://bit.ly/1Saznlb.
Vegetarian diet tips from the USDA can be found at http://bit.ly/2h3VC3B.
