Oprah’s Vegan Challenge, DC’s “Meat Free Week”, Meatless Monday’s
What’s going on?
Oprah joined the Vegan bandwagon and encouraged her team to go vegan for one week and 378 Harpo employees signed up. Armed with free goodie bags from Kashi Cereal and Whole Foods, staffers made the commitment to change their diet for a week, at least.
The Oprah Show on Tuesday, Feb 1 featured “Veganist” Kathy Freston, a friend of Oprah’s and author of a new book by that name. Kathy is not a nutrition professional, but is a best selling author and advocate for a vegan lifestyle. Video clips showed Kathy meeting with the men and women of Harpo, encouraging junk-food junkies to persevere, taking one staffer grocery shopping and then showing up in her kitchen to help cook dinner.
Freston claims that the vegan lifestyle encourages weight loss, stabilizes blood sugar, lowers your cholesterol and your blood pressure. As a Health Coach I would add this is possible if done correctly; while limiting processed foods and sugars, and increasing whole foods like grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits. (Freston and I differ when it comes to her love of processed soy)
Michael Pollen, the famous omnivore from the “Omnivores Dilemma” and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people, was there to offer support to the healthy food movement but with a gentle allowance that includes humanely raised, grass fed meat in moderation. Viewers watched a heart wrenching view of a slaughterhouse, albeit a “good” one with a new humane method of killing that was encouraged by PETA. The manager of the facility came on to say how proud they are of this new method of anxiety free killing.
Coincidentally, Washington DC’s Meat Free Week began on February 7, with a host of wonderful restaurants offering specials and yummy fare.
“Meatless Mondays” are now a national movement, with supporters like rock star chef Mario Batali offering meatless entrees at his popular restaurants.
So, what is going on? It turns out that whether you go totally Vegan (meaning no animal products, not even honey) or you prefer to be “Veganish” , a term Freston used to describe her husband, there seems to be value in eating less meat than is commonly eaten in the Standard American Diet.
The Washington Post featured an article in 2009, stating the benefits of eating less meat on its front page, and books like the CHINA STUDY by Cornell Professor T. Colin Campbell, outlines a long term nutrition study that shows direct correlations between animal protein and diseases like cancer and heart disease.
The book Blue Zones by Dan Beuttner is about pockets of people across the globe who live to be over 100. One thing they have in common? They are all vegetarian or eat meat in moderation.
Oprah has gone down the Vegan road before, and is obviously intrigued by the health benefits supporting this lifestyle. Does it have to be all or nothing?
Not according to Freston- try “leaning in” to it.
