 Photo: Alex Caballero |
There are now nearly four million vegetarians in Britain and many people are being scared away from eating meat following recent health scares such as BSE, CJD, E.coli and foot and mouth disease.
As vegetarianism becomes better understood and increasingly popular it is worth remembering that only a minority of humans worldwide actually eat meat. Hundreds of millions of Indians and Chinese do not. Americans eat 30 times as much meat as the Japanese and 65 per cent more than the average Asian.
Heart disease and cancers remain the highest causes of premature death in the UK; vegetarians have been shown to be much less likely to get either. An adequate, varied and balanced vegetarian diet is protective against heart disease because it is lower in fat and higher in antioxidants and fibre. Vegetarians also have lower blood pressure and the higher levels of natural fibre in vegetables act to lower incidences of diet related cancers.
Hannah, a 30-year-old from north London, explains that she became vegetarian 10 years ago not just for health reasons.
“I became more and more disgusted with the way we treat animals in this country, pumping them full of chemicals and forcing them to live without any space in factories.
“I think the recent health scares such as BSE and E.coli show just how unhealthy our food has become.”
For people living with HIV, a better diet can improve the function of the immune system as well as halt dangerous weight loss. Foods rich in vitamins, beta-carotene, vitamins A, B, C, and E as well as in selenium and antioxidants are clearly beneficial. But most fad diets are unhealthy and those with HIV are strongly advised to check diets with an approved dietician at their hospital clinic.
Tom, a 45-year-old Glaswegian living with HIV, says he tries to eat less meat and more vegetables to counter the effects of fatty build-up in his blood. Some suggest that this is due to the antiretroviral drugs but others say is caused by the virus itself.
"Even though I've lost 20 kilos in weight since my diagnosis ten years ago my blood fat levels are very high and I am also slightly diabetic," he says. "I now try and eat more healthily to cope with HIV in the longer term."
But more well-known vegetarians are returning to meat, it seems. Madonna, for so long a loud and proud vegetarian, told the press last year that she had started eating meat again. Rates of vegetarianism in Britain actually peaked a couple of years ago when food safety fears gripped the nation.
"The drop in numbers was the first small blip since 1984 and merely took us back to pre-BSE levels," says Liz O'Neill of the Vegetarian Society.
But giving up meat does not in itself make a diet healthier. On the other hand, there is no reason why a vegetarian diet should not supply all the needs for a healthy body.
To get the right proportion of proteins a combination of different plant proteins need to be eaten. This method means mixing pulses with grains. Beans on toast, pitta bread with humus or rice and bean salad; grains with a dairy product such as cheese on toast or cereal and milk, or pulses plus starch such as potato and lentil casserole, are all ways of doinf this.
The crucial vitamin B12 is missing in vegetables, which can lead to anaemia and the degeneration of nervous tissue. Palaeontologists have suggested that it was eating meat that increased the brain size of ancient man and allowed him to descend from the trees and use tools.
Vegans, strict vegetarians, can develop further problems without the benefit of eggs and dairy products and so vitamin and yeast supplements as well as wheat germ and soya beans are necessary.
For people thinking of trying out vegetarianism, it is worth consulting a dietitian and gradually introducing non-meat meals into your daily diet.
Whether strict vegetarianism is right for you or not, it is clear it has much to offer a healthier lifestyle.
Curry may fight cancerResearch from the University of Texas suggests that the spice turmeric may suppress and destroy a common blood cancer. Turmeric is an ingredient in curry and its active component is curcumin, which gives it its yellow colour. Meanwhile Dr Bharat Aggarwal from the Houston Cancer Centre, reports that adding another curry spice, cumin, to human cells with the cancer myeloma stopped the cells from replicating. Previous research has also suggested that cumin has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. An anti-nausea remedyPositive Nation reader Mary has sent us a simple recipe to stop nausea which she has suffered from as a consequence of lactic acidosis. Peel two oranges, squeeze the juice and keep the pith. Mix three teaspoons of arrowroot with one tablespoon of hot water and add the orange juice, eating as much pith as you can. Mary suggests trying this twice a day for the first week and then once a day for the next six weeks and assures us that the discomfort and nausea should be gone. Dirty hands and dirty keyboards spread diseases
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Homeopathic medicines are remedies, not drugs. They stimulate the body to heal itself. Dr David Doré explains their benefits and how they work
Put
simply, homeopathy is a system of medicine that is based on the principle of ‘like
cures like’. A homeopathic remedy is one that produces the same symptoms
as those the sick person complains of, and in doing so sharply provokes the body
into throwing them off. It’s the ‘law of similars’ which underpins
homeopathy’s application.
A patient is given a minute dose of a substance in a very highly diluted and potentised form which, in large doses, causes similar symptoms in a healthy person.
Take onions as an example. Chopping onions can cause streaming eyes, a symptom similar to the streaming eyes of some hay fever sufferers. In this way, onion (Allium cepa) could be used, in its potentised form, as a treatment for hay fever when streaming eyes are a problem.
This treatment method is opposed to the standard medical one where the appropriate treatment would be an antidote; an opposite or 'contrary' medicine to that symptom. (For example, constipation would be treated with laxatives, which produce diarrhoea.)
Each
homeopathic remedy is discovered through a standard procedure called a ‘proving’,
where a substance is tested on a group of healthy volunteers. The standardised
process of ‘potentisation’, involves repeated steps of dilution by
which all homeopathic medicines are prepared, making all original source materials
innocuous to the human system.
There are currently more than three thousand remedies listed in the homeopathic Materia Medica, the record of all symptomatic expressions.
Homeopathic remedies are prepared from source substances derived from all three of nature's kingdoms, animal, mineral and vegetable.
The first treatment consultation involves a detailed case-taking by the homeopath where the patient is examined and listened to while they explain in as much detail as possible their present symptoms, thoughts, feelings and past history. This helps build up a comprehensive picture of the problem and is totally confidential.
After
recording the patient's case, the homeopath analyses the whole picture and refers
to the Materia Medica in order to find the remedy most suitable. Each patient
is treated holistically. A homeopathic remedy may be given in tablet, pillule,
powder or liquid form.
After a suitable interval, the patient returns to the homeopath to assess the effect of the treatment and receive more if appropriate.
Homeopathy has always taken into account rare and peculiar symptoms that can defy medical explanation, but are nonetheless real enough to the patient. Homeopathic medicines are remedies, not drugs; they stimulate your body to heal itself. Homeopathic medicines are not tested on animals.
Patients
often feel a sense of well-being and optimism and are relaxed after taking a remedy.
The speed at which it works will depend upon the condition being treated. In acute
(short-term) ailments, this can be very fast, often just minutes. But for chronic
(long-term) conditions, the speed of recovery will vary according to the nature
and history of the illness being treated. Sometimes your symptoms can appear to
get worse for a short time. This is a good sign that the remedy is taking effect.
Homeopathy is particularly useful in a whole range of conditions for which conventional medicine either has nothing to offer or offers only palliative approaches of symptom control or disease management.
It has several roles in the treatment of HIV infection, for example to manage the side effects resulting from combination therapy, including gastro-intestinal disturbances such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, bloating and indigestion, neuropathy, skin rashes, aches and pains, depression, headaches as well as improving one’s quality of life.
NB. Research indicates no known contra-indications for people taking homeopathic remedies with HIV treatment. If you're HIV positive you might get referred via your doctor to a support group like the Positive Place in London who offer it free to clients.
SEE PAMPER YOURSELF, (BOTTOM OF ARTICLE) FOR SPECIAL HOMEOPATHIC DETOX OFFER AT THE POSITIVE PLACE, SOUTH LONDON.
Some popular homeopathic self-administered remedies
These are for acute situations until you are able to see a homeopath. I recommend self-help remedies from a pharmacy like Helios, tel 01892 515 111. |
There
were nearly 4.5 million cases of food poisoning in the UK last year, according
to the Food and Drug Federation, and many infections are spread because of poor
personal hygiene. Almost a third of men and 17 per cent of women in this country
do not wash their hands after going to the toilet, a survey found. Meanwhile,
an AOL survey has found that the average computer keyboard is accumulating up
to two grams of dirt a month with most of the debris related to people eating
at their keyboards. So wash your hands ten times a day and clean your computer
keyboard - with an alcohol-soaked cloth (after disconnecting it) at least once
a week - and you'll stay free from many nasty diseases!