21st Century Vegetarians Blog

Chow Down The Movie Presents More Evidence Supporting a Plant-Based Diet

   

Chow Down, featuring Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Joel Fuhrman and others is yet another film which definitively proves that by following a plant-based diet most chronic diseases that plague over 130 million Americans may not only be prevented, but also reversed.  The answer is just that simple!

So many interesting points were raised in this film; for example, over 20 million Americans have diabetes, which is a major risk factor for heart disease. Over 70% of deaths in the U.S. are due to heart attacks. Ninety percent of diabetes cases and 60% of many cancers can be prevented by diet alone. There is a quote in the film regarding the role genetics plays in these illnesses, “genetics is the gun….lifestyle is the trigger”, supporting the fact that even if you were born with a genetic disposition to a certain disease, don’t add fuel to the fire by poor diet!

The movie, in the same vein as Forks Over Knives,  chronicles the lives and struggles of three people, Charles (42), John (58) and Garnet (45), all who suffer from heart disease or diabetes.  By adopting a plant-based diet,

FREE 7 Day Vegetarian Starter Kit and New Video!

 

Hi Everyone!

In honor of Vegetarian Awareness Month (October) Kamaal and I have released a FREE eBook! It's a 7 Day Vegetarian Starter Kit with information and recipes of some of our family favorites! You can download it instantly or buy the paperback version on Amazon.com for $7.95. Click on the followng link for full details of how to get your book: Free 7 Day Vegetarian Starter Kit and New Video!

In addition, we have put the First Edition of Throwin' Down Vegetarian Style! on sale for $9.95 because our Second Edition will be released by year's end. If you want a copy of the "classic" First Edition, get yours now on Amazon.com. There are only a few copies left!

 Finally, we just shot a new video! Check it out - I hope you like it!

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harmonious Grub: Vegetarian Awareness Month Questionnaire: Londale

This is an interview from Irenicineri, a woman who runs the blog Harmonious Grub. She is doing a series of interviews for Vegetarian Awareness Month, and this one is of my husband, Londale. He was the one that started me on my vegetarian path! Read the Q&A and you'll see why!

via harmoniousgrub.blogspot.com

VAM Questionnaire: Londale

Londale Theus Sr. is a professional working actor who resides in El Segundo, CA. He's wonderfully talented on set and wonderfully entertaining and fascinating off camera. His wife, Martha Theus, runs the vegetarian blog 21st Century Vegetarians, and will be answering questions later on. :)

 ___________________________________

Q When did you become a vegetarian?

A 1982, I’ve been a vegetarian 28yrs.

Q Why did you become a vegetarian?

A For spiritual reasons: personal growth and spiritual development.

Q In what way has being a vegetarian enhanced your spiritual development and personal growth?
A I make a moral and spiritual decision every time I put food in my body, thus the veggie diet along with my daily spiritual practice helps me to continue to expand my consciousness and stay connected to source. It makes my meditation easier, because I'm not making my body a graveyard for dead animals, thus allowing me to experience a deeper peace, inner focus, and divine awareness. Finally I understand that we live in a moral universe where cause and effect, and action and reaction is a part of life. So I treat "all" life with as much compassion as possible and choose not to create unnecessary suffering by eating non-vegetarian food and help the world have a little more light, joy, and peace. Honor all life, do no harm!

Q What is the most common misunderstanding you face about being vegetarian?

A That you can’t be strong and athletic on a vegetarian diet.

I Have a Dream...

Today, as we celebrate the birthday and the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I am overwhelmed with a sense of optimism. Dr. King dared to dream that all people, regardless of race, creed, or color, would be treated equally and with dignity and respect. He led crusades to promote this dream in a non-violent and peaceful manner, even in the midst of the violent and chaotic 1960’s.

Fast forward to August 28^th, 2008. This was the 45^th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and ironically, the day Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president. Tomorrow, we will inaugurate our first African American president. In one generation, our nation progressed from a seemingly impossible dream to a giant step toward its realization. This shows the power of one man’s dream and the ability to change the world by fearlessly and tirelessly pursing to a vision.   In the words of NBA Champion Kevin Garnett, “Anything is possible!!!” (OK – so I love basketball!)

Well…..I have a dream too. My dream is that the entire world will realize that animals were not put here to be used and abused by us and to ultimately end up on our plates. My dream is that people will realize that a vegetarian lifestyle embodies the spirit of peace and compassion, which is what Dr. King, and other great leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi stood for. (Dr. King’s wife, Coretta, spent the last 15+ years of her life as a vegan. Her son, Dexter introduced her to this more compassionate way of eating.) In Ebony Magazine in 2003, and in Vegetarian Times in 1995, she stated:

Yes We Can!

What a historic week this has been! Like most Americans, even like most of the world, my family and I stayed up late Tuesday night, glued to the television, and watched how history unfolded right before our eyes. My husband and I witnessed something that we NEVER thought we would see in our lifetimes; my children (who voted for the first time in this election) witnessed something that they thought was possible, albeit improbable. By the end of the evening, we were shocked and overcome with joy and pride, America, by a margin of 53% - 46% of the popular vote, and by a landslide in the electoral vote, had elected its first African American President, Barack Obama.

At the moment when it was announced on the various networks we were watching, I felt such a sense of relief. Actually, it was beyond relief – I think for the first time in my life I realized that I had been carrying deep within my soul a unique pain that only African Americans feel. This is not to negate the pain that is experienced by all people who face various hardships, but this specific pain that I am speaking of is the pain that the country we love would never truly love us back.

Diabetes: The Silent Killer

In the past, cases of juvenile diabetes were nearly always the result of Type 1 diabetes, which is the result of a medical condition in the body that prevents the production of insulin. Although this form of diabetes is very aggressive and there is no known cure, it can be managed with proper diet and medication. Thankfully, this type of diabetes is rare – less than 10% of those with diabetes have Type 1. On the other hand, Type 2 diabetes is on the rise, especially among our children due to poor diet, physical inactivity, and obesity.

Why do we care? Why is diabetes so dangerous? According to a recent report issued by the State of California and the Governor’s Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity, some of the gravest effects of diabetes are:

Black Vegetarian - Oxymoron or New Trend?

“Y’all don’t eat no chicken? Then what do you eat?” If I had a dollar for everytime I’ve been asked that over the past 22 years (which is the last time I ate chicken, fish, meat, or eggs) I’d be a millionaire! But, that’s my people! What can I say? Actually, I can’t blame them. In all seriousness, what image pops into your head when you think of the word “vegetarian?” Probably someone pale and emaciated, with long stringy hair wearing something we haven’t seen since the 60’s. I’m sure that Black, healthy, strong, hip and athletic aren’t exactly the images that come to mind. “Black Vegetarian” is, for most people, an oxymoron. It’s sort of falls in the same category as “Affordable Health Care”, or “Job Security.”

Kamaal and Londale - Vegetarian since
birth!

At least that’s how it was, but things are rapidly changing. My entire family is vegetarian, including my husband (vegetarian for 25 years) and my children (currently in college and vegetarian since birth). We have survived what I refer to as the “stone age” of vegetarianism where we were in a class by ourselves among Black folks. Having lived through those days and breaking more than a few myths along the way (for example, my “meat-free” son is 6’5, weighs over 190 lbs and yes, he is a baller!), I am pleased to say that vegetarianism, even Black vegetarianism, has come a long, long way and is most definitely the new trend. In Los Angeles alone, I have personally been to four vegetarian restaurants owned and operated by Black folks, and these are just the ones I know about! When we lived in Maryland, I made a weekly trip to Soul Vegetarian down on Georgia Avenue.

This is encouraging for me because back in the day,I could count the number of Black vegetarians I knew on one hand. Now, I have to wait in line if I decide to treat myself and eat at one of my favorite “Veggie Soul” places across the country. It is evidence that we as a people are finally facing the fact that we are in a state of emergency and are caught in the jaws of poor diets and poor health. Our people are racked with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, primarily because of how we eat. It’s not as simple as our dependence on the traditional “plantation food.” In fact, the soul food our parents ate was far healthier than how most of us eat today. In the last thirty years, our entire country has become a “fast food nation” and we no longer eat at home where we can control not only the quantity but also the quality of what we eat.

For this reason, I feel the lifestyle of a Black vegetarian is actually closer