This is what the dairy industry would have you believe.

I really like almond milk. I have read that processed soy such as that in most soymilk is not the beneficial soy you would think it is. It should be unfermented.

where do you buy almond milk? that sounds really good:) i'll have to try it

Dairy isn't something we need. Anything you get from dairy products you can easily get from something else. I'm lactose intolerant-- so no dairy for me unless I feel like getting sick-- and I survive.

I drink soy milk becuase I have to, but I really don't like it. Is almond milk as thick as soy milk is? It looks expensive and I'm not going to try it unless its worth it.

Krystine, I think I understand why you don’t get what we’re on about. I’m not very good at explaining things in my mother tongue, let alone in English, so bare with me please. I’ll try my best.

We don’t need ‘dairy’ as such to maintain strong bones and teeth. It’s the calcium IN the dairy that makes our bones and teeth strong. Killbill listed a number of vegetables that contains calcium. That why I mentioned people in 3rd world countries that have strong bones and teeth, but never consume milk, yogurt, cheese, etc. They get amble from vegetable sources.

The average woman only needs about 30g of protein depending on her age and activity levels. Children need more as they are still growing, and need the protein to build muscle. Grown ups just need protein for ‘maintenance’. You mentioned that nuts do not contain as much protein as meat. Quite the contrary. The protein we find in nuts is in its simplest form: amino acids. That makes it easier to digest (it takes approximately 40 minutes). So in short: I consume way too much protein. But it contains no hormones, cholesterol or other nasties.

Then you asked about where I get my other nutrients from. I’m not which ones you are referring to. Probably iron, potassium and the likes that you find in meat sources. I’ll try to explain it to you this way. No animal (or human) can manufacture vitamins and minerals. We get it from food sources. Vitamin D is an exception though. We manufacture vitamin D when the ‘good’ cholesterol reacts with sunlight, but for the rest: we have to consume it. The minerals we get in beef for instance, was consumed by the cow when it ate alfalfa or grass or whatever. I just go directly to the source: plant materials. I don’t get to the plant via the cow. Lol.

Birch, personally I don’t like dressing. Restaurants normally make theirs with vinegar which is a big no-no for me. I abused my body for years - stuffing it with anything I could lay my hands on - and it reflected in my health and self image.
The simplest why to judge how ‘bad’ something is for your health is by the amount of times it ‘changed’. Grapes turns grape juice, (1) turns wine (2) turns vinegar (3). Vinegar and melted cheese are two of the worst things you can consume health wise. Milk, cream (1), cheese (2), melted cheese (3). And the thing I miss most is pizza. Sigh.

I learnt about this in biology/science and you've just reminded me of it. When a plant using sunlight water soil/nutrients, it gets everything it needs straight from a source. When a cow eats that plant, it's only receiving a percentage of those nutrients. And then when we eat the cow, we're only receiving a percentage of the cow's nutrients. Therefore, by going straight to the plant, we're getting more nutrients because we're pretty much going to the manufacturer. It's just like buying things in real life, you can buy coke at a store and pay 2 premiums (the manufactures and the store, not to mention shipping) or you can go straight to the manufactory and pay only their premium.

And Beline, since you seem to know a lot about this stuff, why are vinegar and melted cheese some of the worst things you can possible consume?

well dont we make up for the rest of the percentage that we dont get when eating meat by eating the veggies and fruits daily along with meats?

Melted cheese is greasy, unhealthy for you, and i think the vinegar is really acidicy which is also not very good.

coliejo, you can either make your own almond milk and there are tons of recipes online or buy it. I find mine in just about every grocery store in the city. Almond Breeze it's called. It's really good. I like it better than rice or soy milks.

I'll have to look for it. I am not a fan of rice milk, but soy milk is good.

ive never tried rice milk, almond milk[which does sound tasty!] or soy milk...do they taste extremely different than cows milk? I've always drank cows milk.

they do taste different to me, i dont know how to explain it. I crave milk every now and then , so i drink organic milk, which i think tastes alot better than regular milk

is skim milk good to drink?
i guess i would have to try it to see for myself.
although, when i was a baby, i was lacktose and tolerant, and never drank milk..since i was a baby im not sure what i drank in replacement of it..either breast milk im guessing or formula, but when i got older it went away and i would only drink chocolate or strawberry milk, and i like it alot more now that im pregnant lol

skim milk is good to drink because it does not contain the fat content that normal milk has, but it still has chemicals in it like other milk, some people dont like skim milk becuase it looks like it is more watered down and does not taste as strong, from what I have heard but I like it

Oh, Krystine, I couldn’t help but laugh when I read your post. (The one about eating meat AND fruit and veggies) Can’t argue with that logic, can you? You should become a lawyer, my girl. And the one about you being 'lactose and tolerant' was equally sweet.
I just prefer not to eat meat as it contains a lot of hormones and cholesterol.

You said in a previous post that you ‘do eat veggies here and there’. You might want to consider taking a tad more seeing that you are pregnant. Your little one needs the nutrients.

Sorry, Reptar. If you’re looking for an expert - I’m not it. Lol. I was vastly overweight a couple of years ago and looking for an ‘easy’ diet. With ‘easy’ I mean not weighing food, counting calories or starving myself. (I didn’t look the way I did because of osmosis - I love eating) So I read a book called "The natural way" by Mary-Anne Shearer. Her theories on nutrition made a lot of sense, although she eats cooked veggies. I started reading up on vegetarianism and nutrition, but it just left me completely confused. Too many different opinions by too many people with way too many qualifications.

So I started applying basic logic: humans have eaten raw food since the beginning of mankind. Therefore that is the way to go. They didn’t cook their food, or added colorants, flavorings, preservatives, sugar or salt. They were gatherers.

I tried it, and it’s working for me.
As for your question as to why melted cheese and vinegar is so bad for you: Our bodies were designed to digest natural, organic food. As soon as you ‘change’ food, it becomes inorganic and your body battles to digest it and to subtract nutrients from it. The more it’s changed, the harder it is to digest. Vinegar has the added bonus of leaving a very high concentrate of acid in your bloodstream.
Apparently even fruit juice messes with your blood sugar levels. Please don’t ask. That makes absolutely no sense to me.

yea thanks for the input about eating more veggies, i already am doing that. What do yo think just because im pregnant ill just say nah maybe later? Please. I know to eat more veggies now, i just dont worship them like you do.

I dont know how the response about being lacktose and tolerant was "sweet". it wasnt even a response to you. So go and laugh your head off.
The fat is what has colesterol not the meat only, and if exercising you burn it off.
But apparently a smoker of 15 cigs would not know this.
Guess its hard to run with next to know air in those lungs when their full of tar and other crap.

I think, the juice does this because there is nothing in it but the sweetness after the juicing. With the pulp of the fruit, your body would have something else to digest with all the sugars. In juice form, it is basically natural sugar.

Heating foods does change it's natural molecular state.

Going raw is such an awesome accomplishment. You should feel great about yourself!

Kristine: the words you were searching for are 'lactose intolerant' and it means your body isn't capable of digesting lactose. Your mom would have had to either breast feed you or give you soy formula.

Sorry if I offended you, Krystine. Honestly wasn’t my intention. I know most women take extra special care of their bodies when they are pregnant. It was just a suggestion. But I really should just mind my own business.
As for running: I don’t think so. I’ll die a slow and painful death. Baby steps for me. I started with 5 sit ups. Then 7, then 10. My next aim is to do the 10 under one hour. Lol

Reptar, I’m not sure what you mean with ‘heating’ food. (The bit about melted cheese was something that I read somewhere.) If you mean changing the molecular structure by cooking it - I honestly don’t know. All I know is that it kills the vitamins, and that kind of defeats the purpose of eating veggies as the nutrients are gone. (Not the fiber though, and we need plenty of that too)

Your theory on the juice makes sense, if you think about it.
And by the way, I don't think my lifestyle is an accomplishment as such. Maybe more of a reflection of a lazy ass. No cooking, and hardly any dishess. lol

that would be good part of eating raw, no cooking or dishes.

I am beginning to work out too, and am going in small steps. I started with 10 minutes on a bike and am increasing the itme everyday, plus doing abs and things likethat. I cannot runeither, i have never been able to no matter how goog of shape i am in.

I wish I had the dedication to go raw, i think i would enjoy it. but i could never stick to it.

I started with abs first because that is the part of my body that looks the worst. Because I lost so much weight I have the extra skin there, and I think it will look better if I just firm it up a little. My butt looks bad too, but that’s at the back of my body. Out of sight, out of mind.

Try eating one fruit meal a day. If your health is good I don’t think you should loose sleep about going raw.

just a question:

If someone started going raw food diet now, would it not mess up their system just a little? They've been used to one way of eating for almost their whole life..would they have to start it in baby steps too so they dont shock their body?
Its like the master cleanser diet, you have to prepare yourself to do it first otherwise you feel like crap for the whole day.[just an example, i do not do this anymore or while im pregnant.]

i am going to start trying to eat one fruit meal a day, i already do it somedays when the cafe doesnt have any foo dthat looks good, except the fruit. When i decided one day to go vegetarian, it did not mess up my system at all. I dont know if it would from going raw or not