Author Archive for Jane Birch – Page 21

Borderline omnivore activist goes plant-based

By Jane Birch · Comments (10)
Saturday, July 12th, 2014

Devin BarnesBy: Devin Barnes

“Oh! . . . ok . . . cool . . . why?”

Typically that’s the response I get when people find out I’m a vegan. But I can’t blame them; vegans are so strange.

At least that’s what I thought three years ago. In fact, I was so opposed to any form of vegetarianism I was borderline omnivore activist. “For so many reasons you should eat meat,” I would argue, “plants alone don’t provide adequate protein or iron. And why else would God create all these animals? It’s not like He gave us canines by accident. And I don’t recall the scriptures ever referring to the land of soymilk and honey . . . ”

I could have written a 20-page persuasive essay. Needless to say, I was passionate about meat. But honestly, deep down I pitied vegetarians. Meat is delectable! In-N-Out, Outback Steakhouse, Chic-fil-A . . . All could be classified as “Heavenly.” Vegans were beyond my understanding. Give up eggs and dairy too? Butter, milk, cheese, ice cream?? You take all the fun out of eating!

You can imagine my surprise when I gave up all animal products early in 2012.

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Categories : Single Adult
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“I’ve come to embrace my body as a temple”

By Jane Birch · Comments (4)
Saturday, July 5th, 2014

Sarah Townsend

By: Lady Luna

“In Our Lovely Deseret” has always been one of my favorite church hymns, but the second verse often puzzled me. Being in a meat-eating family and culture, usually having it with every single meal, I wondered why the song included the line “they eat but a very little meat,” as part of the saints’ quest toward righteousness. It wasn’t until I was 23 that I began considering what this actually meant and looking over the Word of Wisdom with literal application.

My family has quite the history of weight problems, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Luckily my immediate family and I were (and still are) blessed enough to be free of any major illnesses. Still, my poor diet definitely showed up in my weight since I was in elementary school. When I got to college I became more physically active, so when a bit of the weight came off, my diet plummeted even more: bacon, eggs, and sausage for breakfast, and meat/dairy as a main course in every single meal. Soon I found that my blood pressure had risen, and I decided it was time to start taking better care of my body temple.

After a few years of yo-yoing between “fad diets,” I came across two documentaries about plant-based eating that changed my life. One was Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, and the other was Forks Over Knives. I was fascinated and finally felt the glimmer of hope I’d been looking for. After searching for more about a plant-based diet, my focus changed from losing weight to restoring total health in my body. Also, I felt horribly guilty after realizing the cruel truth behind using animals for food and knew that upon my own conscience, I had to change to a more compassionate lifestyle.

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Categories : Single Adult
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“I believe every verse in the Word of Wisdom”

By Jane Birch · Comments (7)
Saturday, June 28th, 2014

Rogan TaylorBy: Rogan Taylor

I grew up in the 1960’s, and I can still remember the television commercials for cigarettes. I remember seeing the man on the horse in the great outdoors, smoking and promoting his brand. It wasn’t long after viewing those ads that the science proving smoking is bad for us resulted in cigarette commercials being banned. As a child, I would read the Word of Wisdom, and I remember thinking, “Wow, the Word of Wisdom taught these principles almost 150 years ago, and now science is just figuring it out.” Over the last 20 years, as I’ve studied diet and diet-related research, I’ve come to believe that the Word Wisdom goes beyond warning us against addictive substances—giving us knowledge, for example, that it is pleasing to God that we do not eat animals unless it is necessary. This too is now being confirmed by science.

My mother was the first person who introduced me to the idea that eating a meal without a meat entrée was okay. She made a wonderful garden skillet full of vegetables, and then served us a small handful of almonds as a side dish. We loved it! I also have a memory of my bishop and his family being vegetarians, though, I thought maybe this was a little extreme. But not long after, when I was married and started studying medical research, I came across a study that linked red meat to breast cancer. I remember talking with my wife and suggesting to her that we probably should stop eating beef to avoid any chance of her developing breast cancer. Even though both our grandfathers were cattle ranchers, that did not deter us from making changes to our diet.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“By following the Word of Wisdom I am healthier and happier”

By Jane Birch · Comments (3)
Saturday, June 21st, 2014

Bradshaw Hirschi

I don’t eat any meat or dairy. I feel really good about eating this way. I don’t think anything is hard about it. When my friends ask me why I don’t eat meat, I ask them why they eat meat if they like animals. My family eats this way because we don’t like eating things that were alive, and to be healthy. I like being vegan because my food doesn’t smell bad.

I like to play sports, and if I eat this way it will help me be stronger. I don’t get sick very much, and if I do get sick it doesn’t last very long. I know when I go on my mission I might have to eat some meat and dairy, but Heavenly Father will help me because I try not to.

Bradshaw Hirschi is 9 and lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with his parents, three brothers, and one sister. He likes soccer and is crazy about baseball. He enjoys school most of the time, especially PE.

 

 

 

 

Shayne Hirschi

I have not ever had meat in my whole life. I like to be vegan because I don’t need to worry about having cancer, heart attacks, stroke, etc. I have never been tempted to eat any thing like meat, cheese, eggs, or anything like that. I have never had any problems with my friends. They all think its cool to be vegan.

A few weeks ago I went to an overnight camp for all the sixth graders. It was three days long so I would be eating the foods that the cooks made. We knew I would need to bring my own food so we got the menu for the three days. Most of the meals I could not have. Like breakfast burritos and nachos. So the night I was going to camp me and my mom went shopping for my food. At camp I could tell the kids in my group were wondering why I was eating differently, so I told them that I was vegan and had to eat different foods. My teachers always made sure I had the right foods. I am glad I went to camp. We had a lot of fun.

By following the Word of Wisdom I am healthier, happier, and more active than others.

We don’t have foods like oreos, doughnuts, cookies, chips, etc. I love all those things but we make our own cookies and cakes, and I think they are delicious. Even better than the ones people buy from stores. We even make cookie dough out of chickpeas! My parents love me so much so they keep my body healthy and active by not feeding me meat and dairy and by following the Word of Wisdom.

Shayne Hirschi is 11 and lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She loves gymnastics, swimming, and jumping on the trampoline.

 

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Categories : Under 20
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“For the first time in my life, I felt complete mental clarity”

By Jane Birch
Saturday, June 14th, 2014

Bailey FamilyBy: Allison Bailey

I don’t remember when my issues with hormones started, because I can’t remember my life without them. I started my first period when I was fifteen, and my periods got more painful as the years went on. By the time I was 21 and a newlywed, my symptoms during my periods were so painful I was on the verge of a trip to the emergency room.

Then I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I was put on a terrible medication called Lupron for six months and continued to have painful symptoms. I had a laparoscopy surgery where my doctor found the endometriosis tissue and burned it. I was lucky and was able to get pregnant.

The pain got a little better during each of my three pregnancies, but after about 9 months, it slowly returned again. One of the most significant symptoms during my ovulations and periods was my mood, or PMS. When I was 31, my youngest turned 3, and I was just worn out. I was sick and tired of feeling like a horrible mother two weeks out of every month. I met with my OBGYN, and we decided a hysterectomy would be best.

After my hysterectomy I had two fantastic years. Then I began to feel like I was postpartum again. I began to have thoughts of suicide. I was overwhelmed and incredibly frustrated that even after such a final surgery, I still had problems. I began to talk to my doctor about hormones. And while we monitored my hormones, she put me on an anti-depressant.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“Do I believe the Lord means what he says?”

By Jane Birch · Comments (34)
Saturday, June 7th, 2014

Sam SwensonBy: Sam Swenson

In 1997 I was starting out as a new missionary in the Taiwan, Taichung mission. I had just moved into my second area and was assigned as a junior companion to Elder Olmstead, a muscular football player from Oregon. Elder Olmstead was on his last assignment before heading home so he was getting up early each morning to run on a track at a nearby school to get back into shape before heading back to football. It was while I was running on the track early one morning that I first noticed it: a slight aching sensation on the right side of my lower back that radiated into my right hip. It felt a little like a charley horse so I didn’t think much of it and figured I must not have stretched enough before running. But stretching had nothing to do with it.

The pain continued throughout the remainder of my mission. In fact, as time went by, the pain intensified and spread. My ribs began aching too. After a while, breathing became painful and sneezing caused so much pain that my vision would temporarily go black and I would see stars for a few moments.

After returning from my mission, my mom noticed me limping up the stairs and saw me wincing whenever I breathed deeply or sneezed. She told me I moved like a 90-year-old man. She made me see doctors and after a few frustrating visits to a number of doctors without getting any answers, I made my way to a rheumatologist office where I first learned the term “Ankylosing Spondylitis” or “AS.” AS is a disease of the immune system that causes severe inflammation throughout the spinal column and the adjoining tendons. If untreated, it leads to the fusing of bones in the spine, eye and skin problems, difficulty breathing, and possibly heart problems.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“I am convinced this is the way to eat”

By Jane Birch · Comments (3)
Saturday, May 31st, 2014

Laura AllenBy: Laura Allen

I grew up with a Mom who was mostly vegan for most of my growing up. Eating meat grossed me out (unless it was a very blackened barbequed hamburger—the good smell overcame the grossness), so I rarely ate meat. In fact, one of my earliest memories is picking out all the meat from my soup. I did eat lots of cheese, yogurt, eggs, etc. but did not “drink” milk—I only used it on cereal.

Almost twelve years ago, when I was pregnant with my third child, I had really bad migraines. I went to a doctor, who suggested that dairy (cheese in particular) might be partially to blame. At about this same time, my husband discovered he was lactose intolerant. We decided to cut milk and cheese out of our diet. At first I wondered what we would eat, but we found that soy milk was an easy substitute, and I found other things to eat besides grilled cheese sandwiches. My migraines did become much better, so it seemed worth it to continue.

We carried along with the rest of our mostly healthy diet (lots of fruits, some vegetables, and mostly whole grains, although we were still eating some processed foods) for about the next five years.

About six years later, after the birth of my fifth child, I became really interested in eating better (to be healthier and to lose the baby weight). My mom had discovered Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. McDougall, and had mentioned them to me. I researched their websites and books and started doing McDougall’s diet. I saw immediate results and continued eating a plant-based diet. I also added in Dr. Fuhrman’s huge salads to my evening meals. I became much stricter about the processed foods I ate and started sticking to low fat, whole foods.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“Eating this way helps you come into the light”

By Jane Birch · Comments (7)
Saturday, May 24th, 2014

Lauri MackeyBy: Lauri Mackey

My journey to whole foods, plant-based nutrition began after I was married. I love to cook. I love to bake. I wanted to wow my husband, Eddy, with scrumptious dishes at every meal. Most of the foods were from the rich American diet that we all enjoy. I can bake cinnamon rolls that will make you remember childhood memories, chicken-fried steak with thick gravy that will clog arteries instantly, and funeral potatoes that will win awards at church events.

The problem was, that after a couple of years, we had both gained a considerable amount of weight. I gained about 15 pounds, and my husband gained over 20. I had never been a big fan of “dieting.” I have a great metabolism, and weight was never a problem, but when I couldn’t button my pants without effort, it was time to consider something, anything! I found an app on my phone called LoseIt! that I decided to try out, and my husband, bless his heart, jumped on board because he knew that doing it with someone would be much easier. The deal was that you counted calories. ALL of your calories. I could count calories like nobody’s business, and it worked. We both started to lose weight. Good news, right? Wrong.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“I just wanted to feel normal” (Long Version)

By Jane Birch · Comments (12)
Saturday, May 17th, 2014

Kevin TunstallNote from Jane: I also published a much shorter version of the following story. I’ve always wanted to share the original, long version, so I’m happy to do so here. The entire story is well worth reading, but if your time is limited, you may want to read the abbreviated version instead. Either way, this is a remarkable story!

By: Kevin Tunstall

My journey to a plant-based diet began soon after my diagnosis of prostate cancer. However, to begin fully, I should probably start earlier than the diagnosis as a series of events that some could call miracles led me to review my understanding of the Word of Wisdom and renew my understanding of the gospel, a journey that is still evolving.

My grandmother passed away from cancer after being terrified of dying of the big ‘C’ from a young age—she was in her eighties when it caught up with her. My mother passed away from lung cancer on my birthday in 2002, then a few years later my wife’s only sister developed breast cancer, which was aggressive and had started to move through the lymph nodes. She ended up having a mastectomy and her ovaries removed due to her age. This was followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

I had been called as bishop of a very busy ward here in New Zealand just four months earlier and ironically one of my first challenges was dealing with a single sister in the ward with two teenage children who had breast cancer but refused to get treatment or let me tell anyone.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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Sincere Reflections on The Word of Wisdom

By Jane Birch · Comments (11)
Tuesday, May 13th, 2014

vegetablesBy: Scott Stover

So much has been written about Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants, commonly known as the “Word of Wisdom,” that one might well have to be either a prophet or a fool to risk writing any more, yet I actually hope to share a point of view that is just unique enough to help the reader be stronger, cleaner, and more committed to the values contained therein. I have no intention of offering any kind of historical rehash of how it came about, or how the early saints, including the Prophet Joseph himself, apparently took it rather lightly. There is no need for another account of how it gradually, over the space of 60 years, came to be enforced in 1921 as a requirement for entering the temple. Instead, I hope to offer a very personal, more spiritual testimony of this revelation as a light shining in the darkness. I will leave it to you to decide how important this testimony is to you.

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Categories : WoW Reflections
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