Whole food diet encourages immunity
Has anybody else ever noticed this? I've been vegan for a while, and it always seemed a little like B.S. to me that those on this diet rarely or never get colds or viruses. Because I still got colds and viruses, after over a year of no animal products.
However, I have noticed recently that a vegan and whole-foods diet makes a big difference, especially when a bug is going around. Whenever everybody else is stuffy and miserable around me, I may have some sniffles but overall feel quite alright, so long as I am not eating anything unhealthy.
However, if I am feeling a little naughty one weekend and indulge in sweet chocolate, candy, and processed foods, I will experience many more symptoms the next day than usual. It seems that the high-nutrient meals I regularly eat may build up my physical defenses a bit.
This of course isn't to say that the symptoms are always unavoidable. A good example would be of a flu in which vomiting is inevitable for everyone in the family.
Also, ever notice how easy it is to start up eating stuff like oreos again, but how much longer it takes for your body to get used to eating healthy afterward? So unfair, lol.
I feel you!
I eat a high raw diet and I can sometimes feel like s**t after eating cooked especially grains. I can't remember what I ate once lately near around bedtime and when I woke up I felt like I had a hangover. Also when I am not active or get down about the cold weather I crave bad processed foods like today :(. You mentioned oreos oh now I want to go to TJ's and get some Joe-O's, darn you!
So far I haven't been sick eating high raw but I was sick as a vegan about this time last year I had an awful something never knew what it was though had blood tests for mono and other stuff and never found out what it was. My throat was all swollen, my head was spinning, all I could do is sleep, and all around felt horrible, never vomited though. What I feel really cured me other than time but something that really sped it up was garlic ginger shots I made - instant relief from swelling! I guess I ate a good amount of whole foods then but not as much as I do now.
I agree completely!
A vegan WHOLE foods diet (or at least mainly whole foods & mainly organic) is the BOMB! It's much harder to catch anything that way too, which can only mean that long-term immunity to disease is much better!
p.s. Not to say that I'm totally immune, but when I'm really eating well, I feel like I can even stave off the flu, etc. when my daughter brings it home. This I do, though, by upping the ante a bit with super-immune boosting foods like shiitakes and kale...
:)
It definitely matters to me! When I first went vegetarian, I practically lived on processed snack foods (dorm food was notably lacking in real meals for us vegetarians). I didn't feel very healthy at all. The switch to whole foods made such a difference, well before I ever went vegan.
I tend to think that my whole food diet was what made it so easy for me to change to vegan when I did -- I just plain stopped craving much of the things I couldn't have after I stopped eating the processed stuff.
I definitely find that I feel much better when I eat a diet mainly of vegan whole foods. The more processed crap I eat, the worse I feel. I also find that I bounce back from high stress, low sleep, situations more easily when eating whole foods.
I definitely find that I feel much better when I eat a diet mainly of vegan whole foods. The more processed crap I eat, the worse I feel. I also find that I bounce back from high stress, low sleep, situations more easily when eating whole foods.
Couldn't agree more. There is just so much rubbish shoved into processed foods. Does anyone really know what effect it has on our bodies over the long term?