Book Review: Vegan For Life

Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet by Jack Norris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very comprehensive book nutritionally speaking. It has a lot of detailed and interesting information on how to be eat healthy while on a vegan diet. The book gives detailed information on protein, calcium, vitamin D, iron and zinc. For each nutrient/vitamin there is a list of foods that have good amounts of each item, and a one day sample meal plan. After these initial chapters, the book gives a comprehensive vegan food guide. It states how many servings of whole grains/starchy vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds, vegetables, fruits and fats a new vegan needs to eat. They also give their recommendations for supplements intakes, especially vitamin B12 and iodine. Included are sample meal plans for 1600 calories, 2000 calories, and 2500 calories. There is also a guide for pantry staples to keep on hand. All the information in the chapter is top notch and nutritionally adequate.

Next, the book goes into how to modify the diet for pregnancy and breastfeeding, infants and toddlers, teenagers and adults over 50. The adults over 50 chapter is quite small and I would have liked to see more on this category. The next chapters then focus on how a vegan diet can help with preventing diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. All nutrition information in the book is rooted in science.

There is also a chapter on soy, which they say is healthy and will not cause any negative effects. I was somewhat disappointed in the soy chapter as I have heard bad things about soy but they did not really address any of them. They focused on the studies that say soy is good for your heart and it decreases the the risk of breast cancer. It seemed like in these studies they were talking about tofu, tempeh and other traditional soy products eaten in Asian countries. The chapter does not go into the effects of genetically modified soy that could be in fake meats or any other heavily processed soy products.

The final chapter explains why you should go vegan. While the rest of the book keeps this information down to a minimum, basically stating the being vegan is an ethical choice, this chapter seems to want to explain all the horrible things that happen to farmed animals. Much of the information comes from organization like People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Mercy For Animals (MFA) and Compassion Over Killing (COK). The authors express that they chose this lifestyle for ethic reasons and it is apparent they are friends with people in these organizations. This chapter is the last one in the book which I found well placed as you can read all the nutrition information about being vegan first then decide if you want to read the last chapter. The chapter goes through how beef, pork, chickens and egg laying hens are treated. It is very gruesome at times and rather depressing to read. However, the chapter does not do a good job of pointing out which things are standard industry practices and which activities are illegal. Much of the information comes from PETA, MFA and COK undercover investigations and they do not make much of a distinction between legal and illegal activity. If you have no desire to read this information then you can skip it but still benefit from the sound nutrition information in the rest of the book.


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New Study Finds Green Leafy Vegetables May Decrease Cancer Risk

Need another reason to eat green leafy vegetables? A new study conducted on almost 5,000 Chinese women ranging in age between 20 and 75 years old who were diagnosed with breast cancer showed that those who ate the most cruciferous vegetables had a 62 percent decreased risk of dying compared to women who at very little of these vegetables. The study also found that there was a 35 percent decreased risk of a recurrence of breast cancer for those that eat the most cruciferous vegetables.

The vegetables the study participates ate were green cabbage, cauliflower, and bok choy, but other vegetables such as broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts may also protect against cancer. The women in the study ate about 3.5 ounces of cruciferous vegetables a day. Researchers theorize that there are bioactive properties in cruciferous vegetables that help keep breast cancer at bay. It is common knowledge that there are also many other nutrients in these vegetables that keep you healthy, such as calcium, iron and fiber. Eating a wide variety of these foods can help keep many diseases in check. Aim for at least 3 oz of these vegetables a day for maximum benefits.

The average American woman eats about 1 oz of cruciferous vegetables a day. Most in the form of broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Experimentation is key when trying to increase your intake of any new food. There are many simple ways to prepare these foods. Green cabbage is easy to incorporate into your diet. It can be eaten raw in coleslaw or dressed with a light dressing of lemon juice and olive oil. Cabbage can also be cooked into any type of vegetable soup. Bok Choy is a common vegetable in Chinese cuisine, and one of the vegetables the women in the study ate. There are two types you can get at the grocery store, baby bok choy which is small enough to steam or sauté whole, and a large variety. The larger bok choy should be cut into slices and sautéed with other vegetables.  If you are looking for something more familiar, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts can be eaten steamed or roasted for a delicious side dish for a variety of dishes.