KVC News

Prof. Pushpendra K Jain from Botswana, who was visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina, attended the 44^th IVU World Vegfest at the Convention Center Palais Rouge, BA on 11 December 2016. Prof Jain was the only representative from Africa to attend the Vegfest in Argentina.

The 45^th Vegfest is scheduled to be hosted in Kenya in 2017. Before his travel to Argentina, Prof. Jain was requested by the IVU Africa representative, Mr. Emmanuel Eyoh from Nigeria to bring the “Hosting Flag of IVU Vegfest” to Botswana for passing it on to the organizers of the 2017 Vegfest in Kenya.  A brief “Passing of the ‘Hosting Flag’ ” ceremony was organized by the Argentinean Hosts in the afternoon on 11 December 2016 at which, amid speeches, Prof. Jain was handed over the IVU Vegfest flag by the Argentinean hosts which he accepted on behalf of Kenya to pass it on to them. In his acceptance speech, Prof. Jain thanked IVU for their continued support of Vegetarian movement in Africa, and invited the guests present to the Vegfest in Kenya in 2017, the details of which will soon become available on the website. As the IVU Patron and former IVU Council member Prof. Jain is well known in the IVU circle, and has attended two past IVU World Vegetarian Congresses (as they were known then) in Thailand (2000) and Toronto (2004).

 Setting the record straight

I recently met a group of youngsters at a luncheon who were intrigued when they heard I was a vegetarian. So do you eat only vegetables, they queried innocently. I laughed and told them being a vegetarian did not mean living on vegetables only but it is a broad term that means plant based food. I am not surprised. Most of them who are not into vegetarianism wonder how it can sustain us and whether we get sufficient nourishment and nutrition. In spite of living in the information age, misconceptions abound. Vegetarian food has an enormous number of recipes and variety that one need not repeat recipes for a lifetime if one is willing to experiment.

So this article is for all those who would like to get a correct picture based on facts and not myths. There are many types of vegetarians in the world today depending on the diet and lifestyle.

A vegan is one who avoids all animal products and food that has animal origin and that includes meat, milk, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products.   A vegetarian is one who subsists on plant based food and also takes dairy products. They may be known as lacto vegetarians. There are lacto ovo vegetarians who take eggs along with what is mentioned above. Flexitarians, and this is now a growing breed, consume vegetarian food largely but do make allowance for animal based food once in a way when such cravings get the better of them.

A vegetarian diet is naturally healthy and nourishing, clean and cruelty free. Let me hasten to add, not all vegetarian food. It would do no good if we were to consume only high fat, nutrient empty junk foods. So being a vegetarian doesn’t confer good health straightaway if we do not combine sensible eating with good exercise. There is an amazing variety of vegetarian dishes that can be dished out creatively. But care should be taken that the food we take should fall under all categories as can be seen in the food pyramid below.

Image Source: https://worldlyvegetarian.com/

Vegetarian meals are friendly to the human body, fairly cheap and nutritious too. It can be had by all categories of people, the young, the sick, the recouping and the growing. It certainly promotes compassion among the population.

Easy Recipes for you

                ALU JEERA

INGREDIENTS

• 4 potatoes de-skinned, boiled
• 1 medium size Onion cut into small pieces.
• 2 small tomatoes cut into small pieces.
• 4 Garlic pods cut into fine pieces.
• 2 green chillies cut into small pieces
• 3-4 leaves of curry leaves
• 1 tsp of cumin powder
• ½ tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 1 tbspn oil
• Salt to taste

METHOD

1. First put oil in a pan. After it becomes hot put mustard seeds. When it crackles put asafoetida powder.
2. Then add the garlic, green chillies and the curry leaves.
3. Add the Onions. When it becomes slightly brown (can add very little sugar to brown faster) you can add tomatoes.
4. Then cook for some time and add the Potatoes.
5. Add turmeric, cumin powder, salt.
6. Close and cook for a min.
7. Garnish with cilantro leaves (optional)

 

                                                                      News from the Veg World

Matters of the heart

In a candid chat, renowned cardiologist Dr. B.M. Hegde busts several myths about cardiac ailments and what defines good health.

Squeezing a wedge of lemon into a glass of warm water, Dr. B.M. Hegde says, “It’s the best medicine for an acidic stomach. You don’t have to run to the hospital for every ailment.” “Not even for blocks in your heart,” he asserts. “Blocks in arteries are common,” he points out. The leading cardiologist also notes that in reality there has not been even one per cent absolute increase in the rate of heart attacks. It is a plain hype, he says and calls it a labelling error. Unfortunately, every chest pain is dubbed as angina and every block is labelled coronary disease,” declares Dr.Hegde.

“Anybody who walks into a hospital with complaints of chest pain is made to undergo angiogram whereas there is a need to understand heart blocks,” he says. “Blocks happen when you are young and as they grow, nature provides bypasses through collateral vessels. This is called pre-conditioning the heart.”

Dr. Hegde believes that any individual who sees a doctor for medical help becomes a patient. “Once you get caught in the whirlwind, you continue to remain a patient.” The veteran cardiologist has been known for making bold statements on the dark side of medical industry. “When I was a student, I questioned how can cholesterol be bad if it’s made by our body. Forty years ago, I wrote that cholesterol is a counter by the body to increasing stress levels. I said coconut oil is the best oil for the heart at the American College of Cardiology Meet long ago.”

“The flaw of today’s approach to treatment is that the human body is seen as a car machine which can be repaired part by part. Whereas, the human body is a whole entity and should be treated in entirety. How else can one explain the side-effect of drugs used to treat one organ, affecting the other organs?” he asks. Author of over 40 books, Dr.Hegde also supports alternative forms of medicine like Ayurveda. Quoting Sanskrit texts from Ayurveda, he explains how any treatment ought to be holistic. “Ayurveda has unfortunately been relegated to back seat, in spite of being traditional and rich form of medical treatment,” he says.

“Health is about the environment you live in and the mind is the environment of the body. It’s not what you eat but what eats you (the thoughts) kills you,” he says. “The key is to cultivate positive thoughts and surround yourself with positive emotions. Quantam healing is the new method of healing. Your mind can heal you.” He suggests the book Quantam doctor by Amit Goswami.

Dr.Hegde opposes the burgeoning fitness craze among the young urbane crowd driven by the belief that fitness leads to good health. “Health is in the mind and fitness is in the muscle. These are two different things but often confused as one. If someone is fit to run a marathon doesn’t mean he/she is fit to live a healthy life.” “Health is not even absence of disease, as all of us have diseases. We all will have over 100 cancer cells at any given time, but they don’t become clinical cancer as they die on their own.” Quoting a sloka from Ayurveda, Dr.Hegde defines health as the enthusiasm to work and love. “Keep the enthusiasm in you alive, nurture positivity and cull negativity and you are healthy”, is his simple mantra.

Dr.Hegde practises what he calls ‘Coordinated medicine’, that’s futuristic and meta treatment. “I take elements from various genres of medicine. For instance, I take emergency care and corrective surgery from modern medicine. I don’t prescribe too many drugs and treat patients unnecessarily.” Calling modern medical treatment as ‘exclusive’ and ‘reductionist’, Hegde comes down heavily on the trial-and-error method of slapping scans, drugs and tests on patients. “I have come up with suggestions of a new definition of health and the concept of whole person healing instead of organ healing, both of which have been accepted by the Institute of Medicine.”

As a vegetarian, Dr.Hegde suggests following traditionally made and locally grown food. “One should eat what their ancestors ate. To eat Mediterranean food in Madurai will not suit your body. Eat the locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables and follow recipes that have been there for generations.” A veteran doctor that he is, Hegde says every doctor should unfailingly follow ethics since they deal with human lives.”

Dr.Hegde was in the city to deliver a guest lecture on ‘Spirituality and Health’ at the Madurai Readers’ Club.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/society/Matters-of-the-heart/article17139237.ece dt Feb. 2, 2017

Content Team

Kenya Vegetarian Club

PO Box 1390, Obote Road, Kisumu 40100, Kenya

Email: kvc@shrivedant.com / website: www.kenyavegclub.com