The Problem with Promoting Veganism

Posted in Help for Empaths by Diane Kathrine

Sounds strange, the above headline, doesn’t it? I mean, why on earth would there be a problem with promoting veganism? Especially when the main goal of those who do is to stop animal suffering and make us aware of how healthy we could feel following a vegan diet?

Well, there is a very big reason for it…

Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely no problem with someone choosing a vegan lifestyle. It is a super-healthy way to live… for some. For others, however, following a heavily plant-based diet can contribute to a myriad of debilitating health problems that can have a devastating effect on both body and mind.

The reason I have written this post is because I have seen several influential ‘lightworkers’ persuading people towards veganism, without knowing how harmful it can be to many people.

I understand why lightworkers, yogis and other aware people push for a vegan diet, especially if it helped them ‘raise their vibration’ or made them feel great inside. But what surprises me, is how few people seem to be aware of how damaging vegetarian food, especially vegan proteins, can be to the health of body and mind.

Where the Issue Originates

One thing we all come to understand on this journey is how different we are. Especially when it comes to food and what we can or cannot eat.

Even as Empaths and lightworkers, we all have different challenges to face, not only with our food but with how we experience energy. Many of us have spent a lifetime impacted in adverse ways by the energy and emotions of those around us, which can ultimately lead to high levels of stress.

Stress has become an epidemic in society and it is stress that contributes to or worsens health problems and hormone imbalances. It is these imbalances that lead to autoimmune conditions and/or histamine sensitivity. These conditions, that often go undiagnosed, can differ from one person to the next, as can the cause.

For example, one person who is living with dry skin, lower back issues, weight problems, low moods or depression, excessive introversion and fatigue might be suffering with an autoimmune thyroid problem. (Thyroid conditions are notoriously difficult to diagnose.) Another person experiencing similar symptoms may have a histamine sensitivity.

But Why is Veganism a Problem?

Why is vegetarian food a problem you may wonder? Well, many health conditions are massively triggered or exacerbated by vegan foods. If, for example, you suffer histamine sensitivity, autoimmune conditions or even hormonal imbalances and you eat certain plant foods that contain high histamine levels, lectins or oxalates they can activate nasty and debilitating physical symptoms as well as mental health issues.

Just to give you an idea of what vegan foods are big triggers, here’s a little list: wheat, sugar, nuts and peanuts, pulses, soya, wheat, oats, spelt, in fact most grains, lectin containing vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines and chilis. Even lemons, spinach, avocadoes, bananas, and strawberries can be problematic for anyone with a histamine sensitivity. (Full list here for autoimmune, here for histamine sensitivity)

I am not talking about allergic reactions here; like allergies to dairy, gluten, etc. Allergic reactions to food happen very soon after ingestion. This is about an intolerance to foods that have come about due to physical or hormonal imbalances.

Making the Connection

Because symptoms often don’t appear for several hours after a triggering food has been consumed, in some cases up to 48 hours, we don’t always link the food to the symptom.

For example, you may have enjoyed a nice big salad on Tuesday lunch, containing organic potatoes, chickpeas, avocado and tomatoes, on Wednesday you wake up feeling down and depressed, angry or with lower-back ache. The lunch from the day before is long forgotten. You don’t twig that your mood or body discomfort has been caused by the lectin and histamine containing food.

Sadly, when suffering with vegan food reactions, the only way people can get good levels of protein into the body is through organic animal proteins.

Our Systems Have Been Messed With

Our hormones and immune systems have been massively compromised by the air we breathe, the food we eat, vaccinations, medications, stress and the chemicals we endure every day of our life. Because of this, a healthy vegan diet has become a big enemy for some people. Especially for many Sensitive people who tend to be highly reactive.

Vegetarian proteins, lectins and oxalates are triggering many of the mental and physical disorders we see today. Yet this is rarely talked about in the mainstream or even by our medical institutions.

For some, who have undiagnosed histamine sensitivity or autoimmune conditions, when they first adopt a vegan diet it can make them feel fantastic for the first month or so. This is because many of the additives that come with a heavily meat-based processed diet are removed. However, over time the body then starts reacting to the lectins, oxalates or high histamine levels. It is in these cases that the link between a vegan diet and feeling crappy is not always made.

The First Steps

In other posts and books, I have discussed how giving up wheat and sugar are the first steps for transforming the health of those who are Sensitive. These two foods alone impact our mental and physical health in ways most are not aware of.

Read more here and here to find out how wheat could be impacting you.

Both wheat and sugar play a big part in vegetarian and vegan diets. It is when these two foods are eliminated that people get to see if they have other food sensitivities and where they may lie.

Finding information on the internet regarding food sensitivities, triggered by autoimmune conditions and what part histamine plays for physical and mental health problems, is not so easy to do these days. Big pharma pays top dollar to be first up in search engines. You must really dig to find the good information. I will leave some links at the bottom of the page for anyone interested in learning more.

Animal Cruelty

Now, I cannot write a post like this without addressing animal cruelty. I do not agree with the way many animals are kept and bred. Animal cruelty is awful and something we are all guilty of overlooking. And yes, this MUST change.

I know many Empaths and Sensitive people don’t like eating animal produce, not only because of the way animals have been treated, many feel the suffering of the animal, but because of their love and respect for the animal kingdom.

It helps to bless your food before eating and try to choose responsibly farmed. There are many organic farms who look after their stock; allowing animals to roam, and feed on grass or an organic diet.

I am not promoting meat consumption in this post; I am pointing out how vegan food can be devastating to the health of many without them realising. Until we have healed as a species, and until we all can happily and healthily consume a vegan diet, I believe it is more effective to advocate for better living conditions of livestock instead of heavily pushing for a vegan diet.

If you would like to learn more about the subject discussed above, I recommend the following well researched websites: The Paleomom and Mast Cell 360

Hope all is keeping magical in your corner of the world.

Until next time.

Diane

©Diane Kathrine

Photo by Jill Wellington here

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25Sep2013

Easy Way to Find Lasting Empath Happiness

Posted in Body, Empath's Diet, Help for Empaths, Mind, Body and Spirit, Tools by Diane Kathrine

It may sound like a cliché statement to make, but if you change your diet you really can transform your Empath life!

Let me explain more:

Last year, I eliminated wheat from my diet. It is one of the best things I have done for my health and Empath wellbeing. It was through this elimination that I discovered how great a part diet plays on Empath traits, but especially the emotions.

I have already written about the devastating effects wheat has on the body and mind. And, after more in-depth research, I will expand on the reasons behind this and take a look at how wheat and gluten is being linked to many diseases, and how it affects the way Empaths interpret the emotional energy of others.

Every Empath will benefit from removing wheat, and even gluten, from their diet. Especially if they suffer from any kind of depressive illness or if they are introverted to the point of not wanting to venture out into the world.

Click here to check any symptoms you may have against those caused by wheat.

How wheat was changed

The wheat you consume today is nothing like your grandparents feasted on. It is now the product of genetic manipulation and these changes began as far back as 1935 when genes for semi-dwarf wheat were first bred.

Dwarfing the wheat genes enabled greater seed production. And, because dwarf wheat only grows to a height of two feet, instead of the usual four, it made it less prone to wind damage.

By the 1970s this semi-dwarf wheat was being successfully farmed in Mexico, India and Pakistan. By 1985 much of the Western world was producing semi-dwarf wheat and by 1997, 81% of the developing world had introduced this crop.

Although the sole intention of genetic crossbreeding of wheat was to give greater yield, thus ending world famine, it changed components of the wheat protein known as gliadin, which caused many problems to the human body.

To try and explain this as un-technically as possible:

Gliadin is a lectin and a part of wheatgerm and gluten. Lectins are proteins that are found within plants and animals; they do the same job of antibodies within the human body, fighting off foreign invaders such as bacteria.

Stomach acid has little effect on lectins – they are virtually indigestible! So, if a person has consumed wheat, the lectins move into the intestines undigested. The intestinal tract knows exactly how to filter waste and extract nourishment; it knows toxins and bacteria from the nutrients our bodies need to feed its cells.

Lectins have the capacity to switch off this filtering system and disturb the intestines ability to act as a filter. The colon then becomes permeable or leaky and allows toxins into the body that have no right to be there.

These toxins wreak havoc on our physical systems and show up in any part of the body as: inflammation of the gut, bowel disease, arthritis, dermatitis, depression, anxiety, acid reflux, asthma, eczema, inflammation of the organs, imbalance in the endocrine system (system which secrete hormones into bloodstream), chronic fatigue, weight gain/loss and joint pain.

But the above ailments are just the tip of the iceberg. And, for the Empath, lectins can heighten all their negative traits and supress the positive.

Depression

Another symptom related to the changes in wheat is the plague of depression that has been on the rise since the mid eighties; coincidentally around the time genetically mutated wheat became abundant and a staple at every meal.

In the 1950s it was estimated that no more than 50 to 100 people out of a million had the need for antidepressants; that figure stands today at 1 in 10!

More than 40 million people worldwide are now taking antidepressants. According to The National Centre for Health Statistics, in America alone, the use of antidepressants increased by 400% between 1988 and 1994 and numbers have continued to escalate since then.

It has been scientifically proven that wheat can change your personality and behaviour!

In tests, wheat was put through the process of digestion. It was found when wheat broke down, during digestion, it did so into many small proteins. These small proteins had the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and bind themselves to the opiate receptors of the brain, having the effect of creating behavioural changes such as paranoia and depression.

The opiate effect of wheat is similar to that of narcotics, but without the pleasurable high and is addictive. So addictive in fact that it will give withdrawal symptoms soon after elimination.

An Empath is sensitive to anything of a narcotic nature. They are also prone to experiencing depression or heightened negative emotions, simply by being around anyone who is suffering. Consuming wheat heightens any negative emotions they experience, both their own and those they pick up.

The last thing an Empath needs is to be brought down by their food. This is why they will benefit from wheat elimination.

To some, the notion of giving up wheat (bread, cakes, pasta and pizza) fills them with dread, even anger, that is just an addiction talking.

Once eliminated from the diet, the desire for wheat foods disappear completely. For some it may take days for others a couple of weeks. However, the addiction will return if wheat is reintroduced, as well as some other nasty effects.

(Update 2017) I believe so much in the power of diet change for an Empath I have written a book about it. If you too want to see big changes in your health and happiness, and I mean changes, why not read The Eating Plan for Empaths & HSPs, it might transform you Empath life!