I'm going to vent....sorry in advance

I'm so frustrated right now, I don't even know where to begin. The best place for me, is in front of the computer. I can type fast so I can just let the thoughts pour out through my fingers as fast as I can think them.

My husband told me last night that I had a problem. And he was serious. What is my problem? Wanting to be as healthy as possible. Wanting my family to be as healthy as possible. Wow. I don't think that's a problem at all. If you love someone, you want the best for them. How is that wrong.

I asked him to do me a favor. Sit down with me and the kids and watch a movie called Forks Over Knives. I have mentioned this movie in either this blog or my family blog before. "what? that health show?" he said. Right then and there I knew he had no interest whatsoever. And I find him to be a little hypocritical when it comes to this "health" issue because I KNOW he cares, it's almost like he doesn't want to show it because I care so much more. I think it's a man/macho thing where you can't let the little woman know something more or be more passionate about something than you yourself are. But I've been wrong before.

Anyway, I said, "It's a documentary. It's real doctors, real studies, real findings, that spans over 20 years of research (and beyond really). I just want you to watch it. I don't think you'll change your mind about the way you eat. I just want you to watch it." And he's like, I don't want to waste an hour and a half of my life. (yeah, and I've never watched a crappy show for you, right?) And then he proceeds to tell me about how I have a problem or issues or whatever he said that made my blood boil. Because it's something different every few months with me. I'm always looking for the next "fad" diet. Which is completely false. I may have tried certain things because I've read entire books about how to alleviate certain health issues with nutrition and how to achieve a healthy energetic body through nutrition, but I don't consider that fad, I consider that science. When you think you have a food allergy, you have to go through steps to eliminate certain foods you think may be the cause. This is as far as I've ever gone. The non-wheat "fad" as my husband called it, was merely a test to see how my digestive system reacted. Which, by the way, pretty much took care of my constant gas problem. I'm not totally wheat free anymore, I just eliminated all the super fiber enhanced cereals and bread I was eating. It really helped. I wasn't allergic, but I was eating too much. But it was a very helpful and interesting book.

The diet promoted in this movie, however, is vegan. No meat, fish, dairy, eggs - anything that is a product of an animal. Just a plant based whole food diet. And that sounds like it would be incredibly hard to do. Also not very fun. But after watching the documentary and seeing the profound effects of switching to this diet.....I am SO tempted to try it. I know it would be difficult. I LOVE eggs. I don't know if I could live without another slice of pizza (hello...cheese!), or a juicy and tender steak. But, like I said, after watching, I am really leaning toward it.

My hubby doesn't want me pushing my ideas on anyone. I wouldn't consider myself pushy when it comes to anything. But when a person is passionate about something, and that something could literally change the lives of the people you care about, it seems almost criminal NOT to share the knowledge of what you have learned. So sorry for caring. Go ahead everyone, eat yourself sick.

I asked him, "What are you afraid of? Why can't you just watch the show? Are you afraid it might change the way you think?" I always thought he was open minded. But I guess he's stuck in his ways like most people.

I tried to convince him with certain stand-out lines from the documentary.....(see below)

like how 75% of dollars spent on health care in the U.S. are due to chronic illnesses and these are due to diet & lifestyle

or how the world's cattle alone eat enough grain to feed 8.7 billion people, nearly 2 billion more than earth's population. And how redirecting even a portion of the grain used to fatten cattle could feed every hungry mouth on the planet!

and about the fact that the livestock industry has a greater impact on global warming than the transportation industry - according to the United Nations. That's leaving a big footprint.

or about the hundreds of patients with heart disease treated almost exclusively with the whole foods plant based diet

OR about Mac Danzig, an ultimate fighter, who stopped eating dairy due to allergies and all that was between him and being vegan was chicken and fish so he just eliminated that too and since has had more energy and recovers better. He is a muscular, strong athlete who used to think (like everyone else) that we need protein. He is proof that we don't.

So is Ruth Heidrich, a marathon runner for 14 years who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 47. She changed her diet and is still doing iron man triathlons in her 70s!

Countless instances of dramatic effects on diabetes and hypertension since changing to this diet.

Milk milk drink milk, right? Animal protein creates acid like condition called metabolic acidosis and to combat this, our body draws upon it's most readily available acid buffer - the calcium in our bones. Incidentally, the people who drink the most milk and are supposed to have the strongest bones from all that milk, suffer the most from weakened bones. Hmmm......

These are all interesting facts taken out of the documentary. There is SO much more. I could type the whole thing word for word, but it would be so much easier for you to just watch it.

I'm not trying to turn everyone into a vegan. That would be ridiculous since I'm not even vegan myself! But I think it's a very eye opening show and one full of information that everyone should hear.

I just wanted him to watch it with me. You know, how hard is that? It's not like I was asking him to do something immoral or commit a crime with me. Just watch a friggin' documentary.

p.s. The USDA determines dietary guidelines that are taught in our schools. And those guidelines have nothing to do with the health of children but more about the financial and business end of it.

When it comes down to it, everything EVERYTHING is about money. Money over health. That's just wrong.