If I were Prime Minister for a day

We had a funny conversation while driving along. It was if I were Prime Minister for a day - what would I do.  I thought it could be fun to mention here.  Here goes.

Sugar tax

Yep, I'd bring this in properly and not just for fizzy drinks.  I'd include all kinds of chocolate, sweets and the like.  While I'm at it, I'd have a good look at McDonalds, KFC and so on.  Why?  Because KFC = Keep Fat & Chubby.  Feeding such crap to your kids could be described as child abuse.

Alcohol

The Government has previously missed a trick with not introducing minimum alcohol pricing, although perhaps Scotland might have had the foresight to do this.  Considering the immense harm to people's physical and mental health through excessive alcohol, there is a strong case for this.  Add the misery caused by drunk people getting into fights, domestic abuse and general rowdiness, I think a significant hike in price is valid.  Although I am loathed to agree very much with David Cameron, I think he was right in wanting to create a cafe culture to replace a pub culture.

Tobacco

You can probably predict what I'm going to say here.  Double the tax on cigarettes now.

Transforming Rehabilitation

I would order the Ministry of Justice to undo all of the harm Chris Graying has done to the justice system and probably sack him by the time I have my morning coffee break.  I think also I'd look to change sentencing policy so the prison population can come down and invest the money saved in rehabilitation.

Whitehall

While I'm at it, I would transfer much of Whitehall out into the regions i.e. moving the power from central London closer to where it is needed.  So sorry Sir Humphrey, your days are numbered.

Freedom of speech, political correctness

It saddens me when I hear of street preachers getting into trouble for preaching.  This has to change.

The unborn children

Far too many babies are aborted for very dubious reasons.  There is a fine line between medical need and murder.  Apparently in 2015 there were 185,000 abortions in England and Wales.  Something has to be done about it.

Range Rovers and other high performance cars

Sorry folks, your days are also numbered unless you're willing to pay through the nose for your gas guzzlers and status symbols.  While you're doing this everyone will think you have more money than sense. I think I'd do this through VAT in purchasing the car in the first place and then the annual road tax.  If it costs £500 a year to keep a Range Rover taxed, well I'd make it £5,000.  As for cars with blacked out windows, you have it coming as well.

Private education

As someone who has put his own children through a private school, you might be surprised to know I would charge VAT on the fees but introduce it over a period of years.

Cycling

It will come as little surprise that I'd spend more money on making life easier for the cyclist who, in the UK, puts up with a lot.  Dreadful roads, poor junction layouts, potholes, few cycle lanes and the list goes on.

Veggie chat at the carvery

A couple of days ago we went out for an evening carvery meal with some friends.  Certainly an interesting experience as I'd not been there before.

Carvery meals are quite good value if you're a meat eater.  You get a fairly generous serving of meat, a Yorkshire pudding and then plenty of vegetables which can be re-filled any number of times, all for under £5.00.  For myself as a vegetarian there was a limited choice but seemed, on the face of it, quite good.  Knowing I was with friends, this was all good.

Without any engineering on my part, the conversation quickly got around to food and, in particular, vegetarian food.  The conversation was delightfully light-hearted and picked up on a recent Facebook post of mine where I confessed to having not enjoyed my lentil and chutney sandwich I recently found in my lunch box.  This led to great hilarity and then we got onto vegetarian food with the spot light shining on me.  Some friends were intrigued and some felt somewhat sorry for Rachel in having to prepare food with and without meat.  I did wonder if they were secretly wanting to be vegetarians themselves, perhaps I'll never know.

After a while I thought it was time to turn the tables and commented on the recent news reports where we are all advised to eat 10 portions of fruit and veg, rather than just five.

"So how many portions do you eat?  Can I ask each of you?"

David immediately jumped in as the group's witty entertainer "oh I don't have a problem with this, especially if you include potatoes, pasta and so on.  Yep I'm there easily!" Then there was a sigh with "no, probably not enough".

Gerry followed as the natural leader in the group, looking pretty prosperous these days with "hmmm there's some raisons in my muesli so that must count as at least one portion, plus look at this meal!".

"Really, you count half a dozen raisons as a portion?  Nah sorry Gerry, you need more than that".

Gerry's wife Janet came next.  She's tall, very slim and probably an ectomorph.  She turned the table on me a little by asking why I was a vegetarian and also for how long.  Now while I have no difficulty in answering this, what do you say when you're with a group of valued friends that will be disagreeing with them on this very profound point.  I also knew if I really launched into my reasoning I would be insulting my friends and spoiling the meal, so it was quite a dilemma.

So looking directly at Janet, I quietly said "I made the decision about 10 years ago because I was wanting to improve my health.  Also because I was worried about the supply chain ethics".

That could have been lighting the touch paper in such pleasant company.  Did I dum down the stance I have taken or argue my point?  I decided to leave it at that having answered the question in the most concise way I could.

Since then the conversation has been on my mind.  I feel as if I have not explained myself to someone who was genuinely wanting to know.  This was brought home to me as I found myself reading through a copy of Viva! (the vegan magazine) which was lying around in the kitchen.  Page after page is argument after argument in favour of being a vegan.  The evidence of improved health, lifespan, lower rates of cancers, heart attacks and so on is pretty powerful.  Add to that the horrors of modern production-line farming methods I feel so guilty at only being vegetarian.

This is all such a dilemma.  In my heart of hearts I know being a vegan is right for me.  Giving up all kinds of dairy, eggs and the occasional piece of fish is quite daunting.  And then I remind myself I quit smoking way back in the 20th century, along with alcohol.  Then 10 years ago I became a vegetarian and then in 2015 I quit caffeine.

So is becoming a vegan really so difficult?

Vegan restaurant in Barcelona

Vegan restaurant in Barcelona

I was beginning to despair at the limited choice of food on our recent Barcelona trip.  Most restaurant and cafe menus were dominated by meat, fish and omelettes.  A quick internet search at our hotel led us to this brilliant restaurant called the Cafe Blue Project.

We quickly got into a conversation with one of the members of staff who helpfully guided us through the menu and happily told us a little about the place.  It seemed there was such a shortage of vegan restaurants in Barcelona and this really was a good find. The Cafe Blue Project serves vegetarian and vegan food, also it was pointed out how keen they are to support the raw food movement.  The food, as you might expect, is all organic and they're making a valid statement about being able to run a sound business on ethical principles.  They're only too happy to talk about their heritage, their vision and what they're trying to do.

Javier Medvedovsky

We got to see a book by renowned chef Javier Medvedovsky (above) who has given them so much inspiration and has guided their menu planning.

One thing I always look out for in whole food restaurants is what the staff look like. Are they fat, slim, healthy looking or on their knees?  All the staff who I encountered were certainly bright, healthy looking and were enthusiastic and proud of the food they serve.

The Good Roll

I went for one of the raw food options and it was mind-glowingly good!  I had the Good Roll which cost me €12 and it was a vegan roll stuff with magic hummus (normally ground chick peas, sesame sees, olive oil, lemon, garlic), onion, olives, carrots, sprouted seeds and some salad leaves.  It was so flavoursome and, of course, utterly healthy!  I could taste so many of the different flavours individually and it all came together beautifully.   The actual flat bread appears to be a mixture of seeds which are ground and pressed together and some kind of dehydrating method is used to achieve the right structure.  Not a quick procedure it would seem; moreover one with time, care and attention to the right ingredients and flavours.

Beetroot, ginger, lemon & carrot smoothie

In terms of what I had to drink, I decided to try out a smoothie.  Not cheap but worth every cent.  I went for the Beetroot Smoothie in which ginger, carrot and lemon are carefully blended together.  This was surprisingly sweet and lovely; again I could almost taste every single flavour!  This was followed up by a coffee which, was okay, was not outstanding in anyway.

I liked the overall ambience.  As soon as you walk in through the door you are met with that certain 'whole food' aroma which is always promising.  Although the premises are quite grand on the outside, it was fairly down-to-earth inside with a nice pleasant style.  Everything was easy going and informal, which is how I prefer things if I'm on holiday.  I did like the decor which was rustic, contemporary and quite stylish.  This is such a welcome change from the rather cold, uniform decor in so many restaurant chains.  I would certainly like to have been there at different times of the day, perhaps on a summer's evening, where I think the experience would be entirely different - perhaps another time!  I could also have enjoyed chatting more extensively with the staff, alas we were there as paying guests and, as time went on, they were becoming increasingly busy and filling up with new, hungry customers (not that there was any rush at all).

If you go there and have the time, it's worth checking out the gallery which is alongside.  While we were there the exhibition was certainly interesting and thought provoking.  This reinforces some of their vision with the project not simply being a restaurant or cafe; there's far more to take in.

As mentioned earlier, we think this vegan restaurant in Barcelona was quite a find and our experience there simply adds to the memory of a near perfect February holiday in Barcelona.  Highly recommended.

Here's their website - Blue Project Foundation

Here's just a few more photos to give you the feel of the place:

Caffeine withdrawal

Caffeine withdrawal and how it started…..

Eager beaver readers will know I like to have a check-up at the Doctors once a year.  This appears to be one of the benefits of being in my age group as potentially serious health conditions can be picked up early and dealt with while there is time to benefit from early treatment. I dutifully took in my ‘specimen’ when I arrived for my 12 hour fasting blood test which includes:

• Blood count (which I imagine to be haemoglobin / anaemia)
• Glucose levels
• Cholesterol
• Liver function
• Kidney function
• PSA (checking for prostate cancer)
• and three others which I can’t quite remember

When I went to see the Doctor for the results she said “well done, they’re all fine” followed by “is there anything else?”.  I then explained I had occasionally found bladder control more difficult these days.

“Well” she explained “you can expect this kind of thing, it is a common middle age problem for men and women.  At least we can rule out prostate cancer or anything like that”.

Naturally that was good to hear, so the next part of the conversation was being asked a few more details and then being offered a prescription.

“But I like to avoid medication” and I pointed out I’ve really only had the occasional antibiotic every few years for some kind of infection I might have picked up.  I went onto explain that I’d prefer to avoid medication if I possibly can for as long as possible as I think of it as being a slippery slope.  This was dismissed as being silly.  “Take it or leave it” the Doctor said in a slightly stern way.

“Is there any other solution?”

“No not really, besides the side effects aren’t bad with this and we can always switch you to something else”

“How long will I have to take them for?”

“For the rest of your life but don’t worry, once we know they suit you I’ll prescribe a larger supply for you, so they won’t be too expensive”.

This was all sounding awful and the conversation was not going the way I wanted it to go! “Is there really no other solution?” I asked again.

She went onto say there wasn’t, although she did say “lifestyle” to which I stopped her and asked what she meant.  I was concerned as she had just congratulated me on my excellent blood test results.  The word caffeine got mentioned and explored no further, not wanting to ask me how many cups of tea or coffee I get through in a day.

I had the prescription made up and started taking my two tablets a day.  The first night I had a terrible dream and in the morning I was wracking my brains trying to remember if the Doctor had said anything about dreams being in the side effects.  I couldn’t remember anything but when I read the Patient Information leaflet it mentioned nightmares, along with a whole load of other possible side effects.

Over the next few days I grew increasingly uncomfortable with taking these tablets, even with them being low dose.  I decided to quit tea and coffee to see if that made a difference.  Well I can tell you I certainly missed a regular cuppa at various times of the day and for the first 24 hours I was feeling slightly light-headed and yearning for a nice coffee.  I knew I was withdrawing.

Now a week later I’m not taking the tablets, avoiding all caffeine and doing fine. I have solved the problem.  Yippee, so to speak.

Follow up appointment with the Doctor 

Now at this point I am due to make a follow up appointment with my Doctor.  She will be expecting me to say that I have been fine with the tablets and take up the offer of a longer term prescription which will be repeated of the rest of my days.  After all, I haven’t been back sooner to complain of horrible side effects.

Instead I’m going to report that I have solved the problem through avoiding caffeine but this now gives me a dilemma.  I really do like a nice cup of tea, or a cup of ground filter coffee of some description.  Should I abstain completely from tea or coffee?  Switch to de-caff?  Isn’t tea and coffee de-caffed through some horrible chemical process?  Have the occasional coffee, to be polite etc?

Decisions, decisions……

Yogurts; the good and the bad

I feel as if I'm about to have a Victor Meldrew-style rant here about yoghurts and the supermarkets who sell them.

On one hand, you can buy a really nice natural yoghurt from Sainsbury's in the form of their So Organic low fat variety.  It comes in smaller pots or in the 500g version that we tend to buy (at the time of writing the 500g pot costs £1.30).  It has a pleasant taste and contains the live bacteria of:

• Bifidobcaterium
• Lactobacillius acidophilius and
• Streptoccus thermophilus

Or alternatively, you could buy a slightly cheaper yoghurt with all kind of dubious ingredients in.   Frequently these contain water, plenty of it.  It contains a thickener to presumably make up for the water that has been added.  As for the rest of the ingredients, well.... ahemmm.

Yogurts are a natural product and one which is good and wholesome.  While compatible with a vegetarian diet, it's not vegan and so I know it won't be suitable for all my readers.  Broadly yogurts are made through a fermentation process where bacteria or yeast are added to to the mix and provide the fuel for the process.  These bacteria are healthy.  Healthy in the sense of maintaining a good healthy gut with the right bacteria for breaking down food as part of the digestion process.   The benefits continue with enhancing the immune system and it has been said there are other benefits of preventing various illnesses or diseases such as the effects from poor digestion, constipation and it is suggested multiple sclerosis.

Arguably the worst part are the additives to the yogurts which can include aspartame, some food colouring which can be carcinogenic and various syrup sweeteners.

Natural yogurt; perfect with fruit and home made muesli (aka gravel)

We had a debate at home, with Rachel pointing out that although the cheaper yoghurts did have the combination of water and thickeners in, these did allow the manufacturers to achieve a more consistent product.  This means excessive 'lumpiness' or 'runniness' was taken out.

With food, the old adage "you get what you pay for" is often very true.  We have choices to either buy cheap food to fill ourselves up with and these are often laden with unnecessary additives to make them taste better, last longer on the supermarket shelf or simply to allow the manufacturers to cut their own costs.

And you? Which do you prefer?

Review - nakd snack bars

Not far from my office is a health food shop and I often pop in to buy something at lunch time, possibly for our food cupboard at home or simply because I'm still hungry and fancy a snack to keep me going through the afternoon.  The staff in the shop recognise me nowadays and they admit to wondering what I will buy this time, since I have made my way through many of their snacks.  So.  So here we go with a review of what must be my absolute favourite of all my extra lunch time snacks.....

what are nakd snacks?

Nakd are a British company making whole food snacks.   When pointing out their origin, it's a case of being "gleefully" made in Britain - I quite like that!

Their snacks use ingredients that are natural and are not processed beyond the minimum needed to combine them together for the snack itself.  Many other snacks - even those sold in health food shops - have many sugars, syrups and other gloopy sticky things amongst other mysterious ingredients.  Nakd point out that many of their rivals will include up to 30 odd ingredients that appear to me to be largely pointless.  Nakd are made by a cold pressing process, meaning it's not stuck together with refined sugars or syrups.

Take a look at their website (link below) and you'll see a touch of humour in a young company doing very well with what it does - they have their mission and from my point of view as a consumer, they're doing fine.  I do like companies that aren't too serious about their corporate approach.  In fact, if I were to start some kind of business myself, it would be just like Nakd!

and the taste?

Surprisingly good!  There's no mistaking the fruitiness in the Berry Cherry bar at all.  Quite a firm texture and there is a nice moist feel to it but better still with a favourite drink to savour it all the more.  One of the things Nakd play on is that whole foods don't have to taste dry, bland and be boring - these are far from it.

They have a good "solid" feel to them and are reasonably robust for being carried in saddlebags, bumbags and so on.  If they do break up, they don't explode into crumbs - i.e. you can still gobble them up easily.

They're also very filling.  Some snacks are made, in some way, to be scoffed and you're left feeling just as hungry.  That's because they're made of rubbish.  The Nakd bars, on the other hand, are quite filling and substantial as it is pretty much the whole raw food that you're eating.

the ingredients?

In the Berry Cherry bar, the ingredients are:

37% Dates

26% Oats

12% Raisins

9% Peanuts

8% Apple juice, concentrate

2% Raspberries

2% Strawberries

2% Almonds

2% Walnuts

and a hint of natural flavour

This is just an example, after all there's a fairly wide range.

And the ethics?

According to the Ethical Consumer magazine, Nakd snacks (and fellow brand Trek) are amongst the very top scoring brands at 14.5.  Contributing to that score is being Vegan friendly.  Mmmmm that makes them taste even nicer!

I promised you their website link

Here it is - click here

Psssst

Why not order through my Amazon Link on the right hand side?

Minimum alcohol pricing

I seldom wade into politics in my blog but this time I cannot let the issue of alcohol pass by once again.  It appears Prime Minister David Cameron is back-tracking on a commitment to increase the minimum price for alcohol.  Furthermore he is missing an opportunity to take a step towards resolving some of the misery and needless suffering caused by alcohol in our society.

If the newspapers are correct - and this appears perfectly plausible - there seems to have been some heavy lobbying taking place from other Government Ministers and from the drinks industry to allow things to continue as they are.  Amongst those are David Davis who claims raising the minimum price of alcohol will".....hit poor people. It’ll hit people in the north. It’ll hit the pensioner having their one bottle of wine a week; it’ll hit the hard-up couple doing the same. It’s going to cost…it’s going to transfer £1billion from the public to the people who sell alcohol, and it’s not going to work".

Sure, many people will drink alcohol without any problems whatsoever.  By tradition in the UK, having a glass of wine (or whatever) is associated with celebrations, happy times, socialising and so on.  That's absolutely fine if that's what people want to do from time to time.  Then there's more ordinary routine drinking with a bottle of wine over a meal at home with friends - on the surface it could be argued there's nothing wrong with that either.  

However in the UK there are so many problems associated with alcohol and in particular the abuse of alcohol.  This will show itself amongst young adults eager for a good time on Friday or Saturday nights.  All too easily people's behaviour changes which lead to fights breaking out, people getting hurt, inhibitions dropping, risky behaviour taking place.  I once remember having a discussion with a group of offenders in Hemel Hempstead (this was in the late 1990s and I don't believe anything has changed)  They described a "good night" out as:

• take as much money as you can, smoke some cannabis beforehand
• meeting like-minded friends in the first town centre pub at 9.00pm for a few high speed drinks
• then go to 2 or 3 other pubs, meeting up with other friends and becoming all the more rowdy as they went along 
• by 11.00pm they would each have drunk about 6 to 8 pints of lager
• for most they would also be smoking (ordinary cigarettes) and easily get through a packet of 20 during their night out
• at closing time it was often fun to antagonise someone a bit, not too far, just enough to have a brush with the law or someone in authority 
• a take-away meal would follow - fish & chips, kebab, Chinese etc (and probably thrown up later on)
• enter a local night club at midnight
• buy some drugs - amphetamines mentioned as a good choice
• flirt with some girls, confrontation with boyfriends
• drink a mixture of spirits (vodka mostly - a good image?) and beer
• thrown out for rowdy behaviour which continues in the town centre streets (memory very uncertain by this stage)
• picked up by the Police
• wake up in a Police cell, feeling awful
• what a great night out

Then there are the more discreet folk who drink alcohol at home, in private.  Behind those respectable-looking front doors is often a scene of complete despair as the steps of addiction take hold along with the inevitable fall out.  The 'fall out' includes diabetes and many other health conditions, the spectre of domestic abuse and violence.  The list goes on.

Will pricing solve these problems?

No, of course not, at least not on its own  Minimum pricing would, I believe, be a good positive step in the right direction.  The use and abuse of alcohol in our society is complex as indeed are the problems arising from it.  Much is to do with society's attitude towards alcohol as well as the availability.  By availability that includes pricing, supermarkets, licensing and so on.

There is, however, a number of influential people who do have a voice which is in David Cameron's earshot.  These include Dr Vivienne Nathanson of the British Medical Association who said the "tiny amount" of adding just 30p - 40p a week on the cost of alcohol would be outweighed by the benefits.  The BMA is suggesting the Prime Minister should "be courageous - this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save lives, to save the country some money.  Both good deals for him".

I heard on the radio as I was driving to work last week this issue being discussed.  I think it was Sarah Wollaston MP who said words to the effect that people will continue to die while alcohol is too cheap.  She came across as being sincere, forthright and saying clearly how wrong she thought David Cameron was.

My own view on this

• there is so much needless misery caused by alcohol, I believe the overall balance is heavily against alcohol.  This applies to people claiming red wine is good for you.  I'm not sure about this and I still think red wine does more harm than good; that's why I'd go for grape juice and without any alcohol
• the misery includes fights, irresponsible behaviour, risky behaviour, criminal records, health problems which can show themselves in the medium and long term
• arguably the biggest misery is addiction: I remember talking with someone who was dependent on alcohol and was crying, sobbing in front of me wanting to be freed from the terrible addiction.  Addiction comes about over time, gradually creeping up on people and overcoming it can be very difficult 
• examples of the Government influencing public spending does work (to a point) and examples include cigarettes, car road tax, VAT levels etc
• alcohol should be regarded as a treat for special occasions, not something consumed every day
• through example and leadership, society's attitude should change - binge drinking cannot be socially acceptable (i.e. consider how society has changed it's view on drink driving)
• the minimum price rise should be achieved by taxation - the Government needs as much money as it can.  The extra revenue could be used, as an example, to invest further into public health
• very strong lagers and beers should be additionally taxed to make them become unbelievably expensive.  As it is, some are as strong as wine and I question how many people would as for "a pint of your best wine please"
• the Government, David Cameron in particular, must be prepared to act in a way that shows strong leadership.  While it is appropriate for a Prime Minister to change his or her mind in the light of new information or advice, a clear direction is a feature of a strong Government which also avoids being influenced all the time by public opinion.  The Government must act in the best interests of the country as a whole, not just as a way of keeping people happy and then gain popularity
• MPs and other public figures should not underestimate the influence they can have and to use it for the benefit of those they represent.  Occasionally rising above public opinion can have a cost at the ballot box but some issues are a matter of conscience
• I have blogged about this before - why I'm tee total

A 20p tax on fizzy drinks?

What do you make of the proposal that hit the news this week?  What we're talking about here is the Sustain group, a health campaigning group, suggesting that a tax is levied by the Government on sweet fizzy drinks.  It is based on 20p a litre which works through to about 7p on a 330ml can of Coke.

Accusations of the nanny state are awash together with protests of the Government hitting the poor again.  I think that's a load of rubbish!  Don't believe a word of it.

What's the problem?

Right now in the UK 25% of adults are obese.  This is, quite frankly, a time bomb for the future as this will lead to many more health problems in the future which are avoidable.  Arguably what is even worse is the statistic which has come out of so many primary school children being overweight - this time the rate is one in three.  Extraordinary.

I have blogged before about this issue as it does worry me a great deal.  I can see my own children enjoying ice creams, chocolate and biscuits but we do try to steer them away from these - they're okay as little treats which can be enjoyed from time to time but they must not look upon these treats as being part of their normal eating.  We get plenty of sugar from the foods we eat normally - none of us need to top-up our sugar intake from fizzy drinks.  You know, I sometimes wonder if a glass of super-healthy smoothie is too much sugar in one go.

What should the Government do?

Is it right for the Government to influence our choice of foods through taxation?  After all in the UK we already have high taxation on cigarettes and alcohol, plus VAT on many convenience or take-away foods so is this proposal going too far?

My view is that the Government has to act in the best interests of the population it serves.   Sometimes that means having to make unpopular decisions which are those which are right for the general well-being of the country.  Here there are matters which effect individuals and those which affect the country as a whole: this ranges from individuals who are caught in a world of being so over weight it is difficult to exercise to burn off some fat through to the huge costs borne by the NHS in fixing the problems which come later on.

Yes in my view the Government certainly should look at imposing some kind of tax to curb people's appetite of fizzy drinks containing huge quantities of sugar and/or artificial sweeteners.

It would be even nicer to see MPs taking a stand on these matters such as Dr Phillip Lee MP has done (doughnuts for breakfast) in November 2012.

Perhaps even the more senior members of the Cabinet could set a better example.  Ken Clarke MP is a man I have considerable respect for (I'm afraid I never had the opportunity to photograph him smoking a cigar while he was Justice Secretary) but I cannot help but think the conservative heavyweight Eric Pickles is not the best example although I know he would ably re-buff any comments without any difficulty!

I just wish....

The Government would have the courage to go much further on these issues.  Why stop at 20p a litre?  Far too much faffing around with these things.  While they're at it, why not raise further the tax on cigarettes and alcohol - it must be in the best interests of the population, not to mention a source of cash so Mr Osbourne can pay off the country's credit card bill a little faster.

Is being vegan healthy?

Rachel, Annabelle and Steve

Vegetarians and vegans are people who have plant based diets; they don't eat animal meat.  Vegans go further by completely avoiding any animal products which includes wool, honey, eggs, milk etc.  So, is being a vegan a healthy thing to do?  Are vegan children victims of child abuse?  Do vegans have good or bad diets?  Do vegans live longer than meat eaters?  These are all good questions which people ask and I've pondered some of these myself.  Well, since drifting from an intermittent meat eater to a complete vegetarian a few years ago, this has been on my mind for some time.

We only have three friends who are vegan: Steve, Rachel and their daughter Annabelle.  I  recently invited myself 'round to their house after work one evening for a scrummy meal and a natter.  We spent some time exploring the issue; I have only known them as vegans and I was keen to hear about their journey and what has taken them along that path.

Here goes.  We've known Steve, Rachel and Annabelle since the 1990s and we have always been impressed by their thoughtful, consistent and firm approach on a range of issues.  We admire them for their strong principles.  I think the world needs a few more people like them!  This was a good opportunity to get down to the wholefood reality.....

I asked about the drivers, the reasoning behind veganism.  For Steve and Rachel, they recounted the stories of young animals being exported to the Continent in appalling conditions: I instantly remembered those old news stories.  Young calves were being shipped in crates, shortly to become veal.  Horses were being transported for slaughtering, cattle were (and are) being bred for ever-increasing milk production.  They just didn't want to be part of that anymore.  For me, I sort of knew of this kind of thing had happened (almost everyone watches the news on TV or reads a newspaper) but it hadn't really moved me in the same way.  Perhaps I was starting to recognise my own selfishness; being a vegetarian was about becoming healthier and as a spin-off equalising the food distribution around the world was merely some kind of bonus.  That alone, I realise, is not enough.  Being a vegan because of animal welfare issues was clearly a matter of conscience for them, and for this they-  and the whole vegan movement - should be admired and taken more seriously.

Tell me about the health benefits of being vegan

Firstly, you only have to look at Steve and Rachel to see they're pretty healthy.  No sign of being over weight or anything like that; Annabelle is a delightfully healthy and lively teenage girl.  

We get down to the details and Steve starts to get more serious with me.  He explains the reality is, for vegans, they're less likely to have "lifestyle" health problems.  Vegans tend to live longer.  They are less likely to be constipated and never really need to worry about their weight.  Cancers are less common in vegans along with type 2 diabetes, heart disease and all of the modern-day killers.  Rachel adds that it doesn't happen by chance - you need to take care in what you eat and even vegans can get fat!  Being vegan on it's own doesn't suddenly make you thinner, leaner or healthier.  It needs a plan. 

In terms of eating a good balanced diet, in practice vegans know they can't just get by through chance.   The "shovel it all in and hope for the best" approach just isn't going to work and the thing about deficiencies in diets is that you might not realise there's a problem for quite some time.  Like most vegans, they take an interest in what they eat.  Steve explained how he had to point this out to a colleague who was a bit sceptical of him being a vegan.  He shared a list of the meals they eat, over a two week period and it's then you can see the variety, the wide range of foods and each with their purpose.  Steve's colleague was impressed, thoroughly out-witted and duly put in his place.  When you stop to think of all the fruits we can buy (and grow!), the vegetables, the nuts, the spices, the grains.... the list goes on and it really is an incredible range - surely you'll know it is far from a bland diet!

Steve and Rachel are in pretty good shape.  Even at 62 Steve talks about briskly shooting up several flights of stairs at work, taking it in his stride and yet others who are 20+ years younger huff and puff their way up.  Even body-building gym goers need to take note!  Rachel has practised yoga since her childhood and taught yoga for many years (click here for her website) and I'm now learning is more than being a fitness regime on it's own.  It's something I know little or nothing about beyond being supple and stretchy (hey - isn't that what good runners need to be?) and it is said to integrate mind, body and spirit.  

Are vegans modern-day hippies, tree huggers who always make you feel guilty?

Well, are they?  In a word - no.  But they could be.  So could you, me....

There is no doubt, there was a natural link between being vegan and the question of animal welfare, the environment, trading practices and a whole load of other issues.  Have you ever wondered why we have hungry people in the world? Have you ever wondered why we have such modern farming methods with very "efficient" milk and meet production and yet we have such poor economic use of the land?  If you imagine the amount of land you need to raise one cow which might be enough to provide food for one person, that same amount of land would be enough to feed 30 people from other vegetarian produce.  If this kind of issue was considered more seriously at government level across the world, the food shortages and the mistakes made in food distribution, could be corrected almost overnight.  

As the conversation went along with Steve and Rachel, I knew that I was going to be stereotyping vegans, sooner or later.  I asked if it was such a thing as an average of vegan.  Together we smiled at each other, I just knew I was getting onto tricky ground.  Rachel went on to explain that it's possible there are some gender differences between vegans.  It's possible that more women are vegans compared with men.  Some men might feel more threatened by vegans, perhaps. Some men might not feel as if they're being "real men" if they don't eat meat, or they might feel they are being less masculine.  Together we wondered whether men would be more wary of vegetarianism or being vegan.   Do women have more empathy for this kind of issue?  An interesting question.

Raising vegan kids is child abuse?

This issue might be a thorny hand grenade lobbed at vegan parents from time to time.  Steve dealt with this succinctly with "making your kids eat a MacDonalds meal is more abusive than being vegan could ever be".

Asking Annabelle why she thought being vegan was important to her, she explains how cruel it is to eat animals and adds "if it has a face I couldn't eat it".  Annabelle echoes her parent's views with the ethical and environmental aspects and doesn't grumble about the vegan diet at all.  In fact I asked if she misses ice cream and chocolate but I'm easily put in my place as there are vegan alternatives!  Most of the people she interacts with know she's vegan and bear that in mind, but just occasionally she might feel slightly left out but finds most people remember and will cater for her and usually bring something for her, so not too much of a problem really.

How do people react to you being vegans?

"Oh, it's easy for some people to bash vegans" Rachel explained.  For myself, yes, I can imagine that happening, sadly.  

"Other people", Rachel explained "will react differently.  It's true some people may sometimes be hostile, some even think we're mad but moreover many people are curious and interested, just like you Doug".  

We got onto talking further about people's reactions and perceptions.  Just as I have found, through being a vegetarian, restaurant menus can sometimes be a little limited it can be more of a challenge for vegans.  In fact, Steve and Rachel will sometimes call a cafe or a restaurant that they might be thinking of using, just to check vegans are catered for.  The reactions seem quite amazing, right through from the "yes, don't worry, we'll get something organised" and the restaurant goes the extra mile to ensure there's a good vegan meal waiting to be served.  The opposite extreme goes along the lines of "yes we do cater for vegans, we have some lovely Sea Bass on the menu"

"Well what about pasta?  Do you do any vegan based pasta meals?"

"Yes Sir, we do.  We have meat balls with pasta"

Sounds incredible, doesn't it?  Yes it does, but somehow I'm not too surprised and I am saddened by that reality.  Although we might laugh and joke about this lack of understanding, it does point to a level of misunderstandings throughout society and how being vegan is very much of a minority choice these days.  Through the conversation Steve picks up on this "just because [meat eaters] are the majority, it doesn't make it right.  Our morals, our integrity, our ethics all point to why we're vegans."

I feel challenged

Yes I feel challenged but Steve and Rachel were understanding about this.  There's a general feeling of us all being on a journey together, a journey through life.  Sometimes we can make profound decisions in life and will always know the exact date a decision was made.  Some of my Christian friends will point to an exact date when they made that commitment, for myself it was a more gradual commitment through gradually working it out in my own time.  Other times change can be even more gradual for different people and we can drift through changes - this can be right for some people, for others being more decisive is right for them.

I can recognise more easily the wide variety of reasons why people become vegetarian, vegan, tee total, drug free or whatever the choice is.  For each of us our values will be a little different: that's fine, we're all different and I'm thankful for that.  Sometimes we can be shocked into making those choices, like Steve and Rachel becoming aware of how badly animals were treated all those years ago.  Other times it is a gradual shift in our outlook taking place which in turn leads onto more gradual changes.

There's no doubt in my mind that being a vegetarian has been a positive step in my life.  I feel healthy, I feel as fit as I've ever been and I'm confident I've got a pretty good diet.  Now my own challenge is about reconciling all those strong arguments that point towards being a vegan.

Are you a vegan, perhaps a vegetarian?  Why?  Why not?

Please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear some views on this, doesn't matter what country you're from, whether you're a runner or not.  I'd just like to hear your views...

Key questions about being a Vegan

Combination of tomatoes and avocados is very healthy

What are vegans?

Vegans are people who only eat plant based food.  That means no meat (animal or fish), no eggs, dairy products, no honey.  

Do vegans wear woolly jumpers?

No, they don't wear wool.  Vegans also avoid other animal based products such as leather, silk etc.

How many vegans are there?

It's hard to know for sure and it varies from country to country.  It has been estimated as being 3 - 5% of the world's population, so not very many.

Are vegan diets healthy or unhealthy?

A balanced vegan diet can be extremely healthy with a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, strokes and some cancers than compared to many Western meat based diets.  It takes a little planning to ensure the correct range of nutrients are consumed.

Is a vegan diet suitable for all age groups?

Yes, but particular care is needed with young babies, children and women who are pregnant or breast feeding.

Do vegans need health supplements?

Yes, vegans need to take care and ensure they consume enough Vitamin B12 (fortified yeast, fortified soya milk, cereals, spreads such as dairy-free Pure).  Vegans also need a source of Vitamin D which comes through exactly the same as Vitamin B12 but also through our skin being exposed to sunlight.

Other benefits of being a vegan?

Yes, there are quite a few.  These include correcting the 'production line' characteristics of modern farming methods, increased animal welfare, more environmentally friendly with fewer green house gases, less water needed for food production and more land can be used to grow food for humans across the world.

Anything else?

Yes, I have a blog post in the pipeline where I talk to some vegan friends, so I learn more about being a vegan in the UK in 2013. 

UK public health - a troubling trend

Following on from my correspondence with Dr Phillip Lee MP and the previous blog post Doughnuts for Breakfast, his Senior Parliamentary Researcher has kindly sent some further information, as follows:

	Obesity	Inactivity	Smoking	Alcohol misuse
Percentage of adult population affected	26%**	61-67*	21%**	6-9%*
Impact on health and wellbeing**	Increased risk of chronic disease. Reduces life expectancy by up to 10 years	Causes% burden of many chronic diseases and 17% of all cause mortality	Increased risk of chronic diseases. Reduces life expectancy on average by 10 years.	Increased risk of  medical conditions and significant social impact
Estimated cost to the English economy per year*	£15.8 billion	£8.3 billion	£5.2 billion	£20 billion
Estimated cost to the NHS per year*	£4.2 billion	£1-1.8 billion	£2.7 billion	£2.7 billion

 * Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Annual Report 2009;

** Estimates by The King’s Fund based on Department of Health, Chief Medical Officer Annual Report 2009

Just take a moment to digest the figures in the table.  Aside from the actual cost to the NHS of billions being spent on treating "lifestyle" health conditions, just consider of the impact such conditions have on the people concerned.  Those lives that have been shortened unnecessarily through diseases that may often be avoided, it's actually quite shocking.

Consider also, the social impact of alcohol misuse, just for a moment.  Apart from the health risks associated with alcohol misuse, alcohol misuse is a major factor in crime.  Like most professions, in the criminal justice system has its own language which inclues "criminogenic needs" and these are the difficulties people have in their lives that directly lead to offending behaviour.  So just think of all of the fights and anti social behaviour taking place in our town / city centres.  The "night time economy" often features punch-ups where people get seriously hurt and there is often a fine line between Common Assault, ABH, GBH, Manslaughter and Murder.  Think of the alcohol fuelled violence that largely takes place in private, in family homes. You can never quantify the human cost of such misery, fright, abuse in terms of a monetary value.  I have met many offenders who have committed dreadful offences and yet, many are themselves victims in one way or another.  This is a poignant thought.

As I climb down from my soap box, let me make a few points:

Personal responsibility?

While it is easy to see the influences that lead people into various lifestyles that may cause health problems, for each of us we have constant opportunities to make decisions for ourselves.  Each time someone buys a packet of cigarettes, that is a decision.  Sure, giving up is not easy but making the decision to quit should be easy.  Knowing support is there, particularly in those early days, is helpful for many.

I question whether it can be right to knowingly lead a lifestyle which is undeniably wrong and then simply drift into the Doctor's surgery and expect it to be treated, as if our body's are like cars needing a 12,000 mile service at the local garage.  However, life is more complex than simply keeping a car on the road.  Situations such as addiction, poverty, family attitudes, parental examples, dysfunctional thinking and many others are all factors which but we (as a nation) need help in a) knowing what we need to do and b) help in following it through.

Does the Government have a role?

Yes, of course it does.  Surely it is the Government which provides the NHS for us to remain healthy and be treated wherever necessary.  It is the NHS itself with it's army of agencies and departments which deliver the various services.  The whole Public Health agenda is, in my view, very important and yet no election will ever be won or lost on the issue of Public Health.  Why?  Preventative services aren't very tangible, people may not feel as if they have personally benefited by seeing an anti-smoking campaign and yet surely these things must be seen as being for the "greater good" and worth investing in?  Knowing why life expectancy is higher or lower in this or that post code area is one thing, but following it through is another.

Does any of this make sense?

Related:
The horrendous spectre of UK obesity
Why I'm tee total
How to give up smoking in one easy step

Should Christians be vegetarians?

Rev William Cowherd

This is a picture of Rev. William Cowherd who was an English priest and preached the message of vegetarian living being virtuous.

He believed eating meat was sinful as every living creature was inhabited by God.  This was about 200 years ago when society was very different with much poverty and illness caused by poor diets and ignorance.  Many people could not afford choice cuts of meat and used to eat offal instead.

Cowherd followed the teachings of Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg which brought him into some conflict with the (then) English church and the remainder of his ministry was characterised by being controversial.  And yet he was followed and respected by a significant number and he somehow managed to remain a wealthy person.  He was also a philanthropist and had an effect on his successor in Manchester, Joseph Brotherton, who went on to form the Vegetarian Society in 1847. 

So, should Christians be vegetarians?

If you take on board the teachings of the Reverend William Cowherd, you certainly should but I don't think he's right about his reasoning.  If God was in every living creature, does that apply to fruit and vegetables as He also created them?  No of course not, these things were created for us to enjoy and be sustained by.

Christians should lead lives that are honouring to God.  Often I am reminded by a sermon I heard many years ago which urged people to ask "what would Jesus do?" in any situation where there was a choice to be made.  In our society today we have a huge industrial approach to farming where animals are bred, reared and slaughtered on a virtual production line.  They are often mistreated in inhumane ways.  They are pumped with all kinds of growth hormones and antibiotics in order to maximise efficiency.

In spite of the progress in efficient farming practices, we still have people starving in the world.  After all it is said one billion survive on under a dollar a day. Count those who live on two dollars a day and you have three billion people - many malnourished and involved in producing food for the developed world (ironically this is true).

Nowhere in the Bible does it advise us to be vegetarian; nowhere does it command us in the 21st Century to not eat meat. Indeed the Bible gives us some clues about the diets in Biblical times (including meat, fish etc) but we mustn't get side-tracked into this kind of argument because it distracts us away from what the whole message of the Bible (i.e the good news of the gospel).

So for me, it's simply a matter of personal choice.  This is based on a troubled conscience about the way society behaves and also because I believe I have a healthier diet because I take the trouble to make sure I get everything I need from a wide variety of foods.  I try not to be gluttonous, that clearly does not honour God.  

And me?

My main argument is this.  Being vegetarian does not define me as a Christian, it is not my duty as a Christian   However, it is right for me and I believe it is right for a whole load of reasons.  Yes I think we should all think about reducing the amount of land devoted to meat production (or even the production of Soya for animal feed), lead healthier lives, cut back on the terrible effects of obesity in the UK, USA and other places.  That is the main reason but also because there is such a rich and varied supply of non-meat products to meet our nutritional needs.

What about you?

Any thoughts on this?  If you're a Christian, what do you think?  Perhaps you're a committed vegetarian or meat-eater - all views welcome, just leave a comment below.