November 11, 2006

Dear veganunderground.com, 

For thirty-five years now, I've been dealing with patients from a homeopathic point of view....commonly known as better living through chemistry. I've always felt that there was something other than what "man" was cramming down my throat......literally. I grew up in a home with a loving family and an emphasis on really good food! German cooking at its best......lot's of meat, potatoes, white bread and of course, sweets. I never complained. It was always tatsy! I seemed to be growing up just like everyone else.....so.....why change?

In the 70's I sought out a little known substance at that time....Omega 3 (eichosapentionic acid chain) and drew some corelations to being able to block the inflamation process. This led me to experimenting a bit with some cooperative Asthmatics and finding some limited success. This probably started me thinking that the medicines we were applying were not the whole story.

Many years later, and with the inspiration from my incredibly intelligent wife, I started to think along other lines. We were vegetarian for some years; a result of a yearning to be healthier. We did find an attraction to cheese and sweets to releive a perceived boredom with all those green leafy things.

Alas, we drifterd back to a limited engagement with meat, cutting back on red meats and eating more fish and poultry. Of course there was nothing wrong with eggs, bacon and whole wheat toast for the odd breakfast and cold cereals or toast before going to work. Read some of the books suggested by this web-site; especially "The Food Revolution" by John Robbins. The "Hamburger, fries and chocolate shake" were right up there with esoteric thoughts......now I am almost ill when I pass one of those fast-food joints and have to put up with the smell.

Back to my short discourse on breaking an old thought pattern.......and the real intent of this message.

I have been treating, testing and educating patients with respiratory diseases for a long time now. When we became Vegan... and aware....I started to realize the importance that diet had on the impact of health. A common thread with all my patients and most would only admit to only a few things; was an almost fatal attraction to food stuffs that were contributing to a deteriorating state of health. I don't intend to go into all the allergy-inducing substances we consume on a daily basis. Suffice to say that there are many and it's taking a huge toll in terms of health care dollars.

I now gently advise patients to take an active role in educating themselves about the food that they are consuming. I have had mostly positive resuts with just a few things being avoided in one's diet......the rest cheated! Strangely the acid reflux either stopped or became less frequent with a subsequent reduction in soiling the airway and lungs with stomach acid and their breathing improved. .....Funny how that works.

I'll leave you with this thought: "Travel to a tropical country that has not been comercialized to death and witness the amount of Life" that is abundant in every form. Then compare that ,when you come home, to the apparent deadness of our culture...the lack of freshness of our foods, the lack of green in the surrounding country (if you can find some?) and the amount of pollution we now take for granted; just like rising gasoline prices.