Sigh

I'm trying to figure out how people have the time to create a blog post every day. I have trouble doing one a week! Of course, there have been times I have done as many as three in one week, but generally I struggle to get one out each week. As a result, there are a few posts that are either dull or not well thought out, like this one here.

I think I mentioned some time ago the story about some vegan chick getting all high on her horse and citing a study that PROVED that milk protein CAUSES cancer. I had to cringe, not because I think all vegans are this stupid, but because this one in particular has no clue. Actually, I totally respect and admire people who choose to eat vegan. Considering how fucked my body is, I don't think I will ever be able to do it. I have absorption troubles and can't really do soy. I've read both the pros and cons of a vegan diet in terms of health, environment and morality, and I can't say I'm 100 percent convinced it's right for me, except on the morality issue. The other two areas leave me conflicted, because there are definite pros and cons with each. Unfortunately, I can't justify getting sick again in order to fully embrace it, though I do make an effort to eat less meat and try to support locally owned, organic farms etc. Besides, with a vegan diet it means taking supplements, which are generally highly processed no matter how natural they are, in order to get the proper amounts of things like iron and B12. I have to take supplements even with meat in my diet though. My blood iron tends to run abnormally low, so without an extra supplement, I'd be screwed. In fact, I take a supplement with iron and an extra iron tablet, and I'm still low! I also cook in a cast iron skillet. I really am starting to see that each body is unique. There are people who can handle a vegan diet and those who can't. Right now, I can't. Every time I move toward one, I start feeling weak and tired. Again, I do admire those who have figured out a way to make it work.

So back to the pious vegan lady... (I think I mentioned this before, but I'm on a roll, so I'm going for round II)

She decided that she would cite this study in an effort to show everyone how great veganism is. I'm not saying it's not great for some people. I believe it is. From the way she presented things though, it was clear that she had not read the study. Either that or she read it and didn't understand it. I suspect that she read one of those pro-vegan websites that stated these untrue findings, because she tends to do a lot of cut and paste rather than put things in her own words. I found several websites claiming the same thing.

Before I continue, let me just get into the actual study. Because I have read it, I will summarize in words people like her can understand. (Wow I'm being an ass today)  :P

In the study, one group of rats was given a certain amount of milk protein and another group was given a higher percentage of milk protein. Then, both groups of rats were exposed to some hardcore carcinogens. (OH NO! Where are the vegans who claim their cause is all about animal welfare? What about the poor little rats?? I guess the rats aren't cute and fuzzy enough.) After the exposure to the hardcore carcinogens, it was discovered that the group of rats eating the higher percentage of milk protein developed PRE-cancerous cells at a faster rate than the rats who ate less milk protein. Of course, one could consider that maybe the rats who ate a diet of 30 percent milk protein instead of something less were missing out on other foods that would affect how quickly they develop pre-cencerous cells. However, people love to twist these kinds of studies around in order to support whatever belief they have, so this was all incorrectly translated as milk protein causes cancer. I'm rolling my eyes. She also stated something about how eating dairy causes anemia, as if anemia is some illness triggered by milk. I think what she meant to say is that calcium, which is found in both dairy and non-dairy foods, can inhibit iron absorption. You get my point with all of this. It's more twisting of facts to support a certain belief.

There's a part of me that wishes I could be a vegan. I'd love to be the kind of person who, in addition to volunteering at the humane society and doing the whole recycle thing, could take my concern for the environment and animals one step further. Someone recently told me that humans merely being on the planet disrupts the habitat of other animals. I believe it. Obviously when we plow fields, we disrupt the habitat of other living creatures. There's no way around it. We could also take a stance that a carrot is a living thing, and why is it OK to kill plants? Poor carrots. Poor expensive carrots!

In Boulder, of course, those Audi driving, Whole Foods going crowds can afford to be vegan and don't flinch at the 40% increase in fruits and vegetables in the last year. People in other areas, however, are focused more on the 40% decrease in refined foods, because they can't afford fruits and vegetables from the start. That's why people in this country are fat. Well that and the emotional aspect that's often not addressed. I'm sure people who write those Healthy Living bogs will continue to suggest that it's all about eating healthy, whole foods, but what about those who can't afford them?

I'm rambling with no real point other than to ramble. Sometimes it's fun. Train of thought, let's see where this goes...

In other news, I'm walking a little bit, but not enough for it to be considered exercise. My longest walk has been 15 minutes. I'm still on the bike though. I'm as pale as a vampire now, a vampire with a limp. Actually it's more of a white girl gangster walk than a full limp, so that's an improvement. That would make me a pale white gangster vampire, I guess.

Being emotional sucks. This weekend I could have been in some kind of Saturday Night Live skit about the girl who cries at everything. That's the problem with holding shit in. It eventually comes out, and when it does, it feels like a never ending flood. It got to the point where it actually was funny. But I'm in a better place now. It was one of those everything on top of everything situations that broke me. Shit happens, I guess.

Tomorrow I will be interviewing Suzy Hamilton, and later in the week I will be submitting my reworked short story. I just realized how badly I need a shower.

My next blog post should be more entertaining, complete with pictures and maybe a video!