There is no question that building and maintaining strong muscles and bones is a really important to optimal wellness. Personally, I never give much thought to my bone health, as I am a strong believer that strength training is the single most important thing we can do to either maintain or increase bone density. Just as people are concerned about getting enough protein on a plant-based diet, we also need to make sure we are living in a way that supports strong muscles and of course our skeleton! Without good bones we are like clothes without a hanger, just waiting to fall and crumble. While we have been raised (by the dairy industry) to believe that dairy is the key to strong bones (and have been wooed by beautiful people sporting milk mustaches) I choose “not milk” over “got milk” and am certain that we can all get more than enough calcium (and probably absorb it much more efficiently) by simply remembering to include some of the foods below. Most non-dairy milks contain a large amount of calcium and often cereals are calcium fortified as well. But who knew even a little orange can help build strong bones?
Thanks to Pete for posting something similar to this on FB recently. I am thinking of taking a photo of him with a soy or almond milk mustache and starting our own campaign! Maybe even a calendar?!?! Think how many people would love to flip the page and find Pamela Anderson sporting her “NOT MILK” mustache….
And again, thanks to Derek and Jolene for sending me the book The Veganist. Kathy Freston has such a lovely, non intimidating, easy to understand way of writing about leaning into a plant-based diet. While I loved her book Quantum Wellness, this one might be the ONE book I recommend to ANYONE vegan-curious. She divides up her “promises” into chapters that can be read out of sequence. The promises all ring true to me and I find myself shaking my head in agreement to things she explains, that I could never explain as well. Admittedly, I have not been able to read the chapter on animal suffering. I have read enough about this and though my first reason to lean heavily into this type of eating was based on my own health and weight, I am enormously happy that my choice makes such huge impact on animals as well as helping to protect our environment and help feed the hungry. It also sits really well with the yogi in me who truly believes in DO NO HARM. If I have said it once, I have said it a bazillion times. What is good for us, is good for the world around us. We can resolve health care costs, wipe out hunger and help stop global warming with just one tool—a fork. At each and every meal we have more power than we can imagine. Just ONE meatless meal today WILL make a huge positive impact. I hope you will consider this as you sit down to your next meal. Thanks so much for checking in this morning. While I love blogging every morning, it is on Thursday’s that I hope to make people think the most because we all know that we really are what we eat!
If anyone local wants to borrow my copy of The Veganist (or The China Study…or Quantum Wellness…or anything else I have in my library), just say the word.
