My boyfriend shared this article with me. Now, it's not the article, itself, that got me riled up - it's articles like that, in general, and the comments that follow.

There were a few things, in the article, that made me raise an eyebrow, but hey, it's what the guy believes, so I really can't fault him. He did his research and cited his sources but I don't necessarily agree with his findings.

Here are a few excerpts:

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"Vegan diets, in particular, are almost completely devoid of certain nutrients that are crucial for physiological function. Several studies have shown that both vegetarians and vegans are prone to deficiencies in B12, calcium, iron, zinc, the long-chain fatty acids EPA & DHA, and fat-soluble vitamins like A & D."

"I do not think it’s possible to meet nutrient needs on a vegan diet without supplements—and quite a few of them. Vegan diets are low in B12, biovailable iron and zinc, choline, vitamin A & D, calcium, and EPA and DHA. So if you’re intent on following a vegan diet, make sure you are supplementing with those nutrients."

"While it may be possible to address these shortcomings through targeted supplementation (an issue that is still debated), it makes far more sense to meet nutritional needs from food. This is especially important for children, who are still developing and are even more sensitive to suboptimal intake of the nutrients discussed in this article. Like all parents, vegetarians and vegans want the best for their children. Unfortunately, many are not aware of the potential for nutrient deficiencies posed by their dietary choices."

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I was going to reply to some of the comments but figured that it would fall on deaf ears. Every time an article like this is posted, the vegans get all up in arms, the meat eaters fire back and no one actually pays attention to anything the other person is saying.

It's also about knowing your audience. The site also promotes "Paleo Weight Loss" - AKA the Caveman Diet - which is high protein, low carb. Plant-based diets, by design, are going to be are higher carb so anyone following that site would most likely frown upon it.  If there's one thing I've learned, over the years, it's that you should pick your battles. When people are resolute in their beliefs, and you're on a site where people obviously feel a certain way about something, there is no chance of having an open, engaging,discussion where both parties can respect each others views and opinions. In those cases, I just step away.

There was one thing Chris said that I agree with is about B-12.  On a plant-based diet it is more difficult to get it and that you have to either take a supplement or make sure you eat and drink things that are fortified with B-12. As for everything else? In my personal experience, it's not true. I get my blood tested, for all the things he mentioned, every year or two and I've never come up deficient in any category. I even donate blood whenever the Blood Mobile is in the area. They test your hemoglobin levels (the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells) every time you donate. If it's below a certain number, you're turned away. I've been turned away twice, for low hemoglobin since I started donating, 17 years ago, and both of those times were before I went vegan.

ANYONE can be deficient in the nutrients he mentioned. Eating meat and dairy doesn't ensure that you're going to have a healthy diet. Eating plant-based doesn't ensure that you're going to have a healthy diet either. It's up to the individual person to make sure they do their best to eat as healthy as possible, not matter what diet you choose to follow - that's what it boils down to.

The truth is that, on the internet, anyone can find "scientific fact" to support their viewpoint/opinion. Be sure to read ALL the "evidence"  - both for and against your argument - and then, with an open mind -  look at all the information provided and figure out what is right for you.

If we changed our thinking, could we change the world?

Over the past 5 years, I've read a lot of books on everything from dieting and nutrition to getting what you want out of life. Out of them all, there are three that have really resonated with me: Skinny Bitch, Naturally Thin and Meeting Your Half-Orange. If Skinny Bitch and Naturally Thin were the books that helped me to transform my body, then Meeting Your Half-Orange was the book that helped me to transform my soul.

Meeting Your Half-Orange is marketed as a guide to dating optimism but it's so much more than that. The author, Amy Spencer, talks a lot about the law of attraction and using dating optimism, to not only lead you to finding the perfect person for you, but to also get what you want out of life. It's a great read for anyone who wants more of life in general - single, dating or even married.

When people think "The law of attraction" they tend to think about The Secret, so naturally, when I was having a conversation with a friend about this book, it segued into a discussion about it. I've been wanting to read it but never seemed to have a chance and then she reminded me that the movie was streaming online. I found myself with a bit of free time this weekend, so I decided to sit down and watch it.

The basics of it is are that like attracts like: positivity attracts positivity, negativity attracts negativity. It makes a lot of sense. When things are going good, everything just seems to fall into place then one bad thing happens and everything seems to go down hill. Once that one bad thing happens, how do you react? I know that my whole attitude would change and I'd go from feeling like I was on top of the world to thinking that the world was going to end. Of course I wasn't going to attract anything good when all I was putting out was negative energy.

I find the law of attraction fascinating. I could go on and on about this stuff, but there was  one section of the movie, that really stood out to me: how to use The Secret to change the world. You think I've lost my mind, right? Let me explain.

"I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there." ~Mother Teresa

Thought can be a very powerful thing; I'm sure you've experience this before yourself. You think about a person that you haven't seen in a while and shortly thereafter, someone else brings up their name in conversation, they contact you or you just happen to randomly run into them.

People are so intent on fighting for what they believe in, but do we ever stop and think about what type of energy we're putting out there? For the most part, we're "anti-this" and "anti-that" and no matter how good the cause, "anti" anything just brings about negative feelings. With all these people putting those type of feelings out there, can you imagine how powerful that is? By trying to help, we're actually just adding to the problem.

What if we came from a place of love rather than than a place of hate? What if we just changed our thought patterns and wording? We'd still be standing up for what we believe in, but going about it in a different way. Instead of imbuing the negative with power, we'd be imbuing the positive with it. Instead of being "anti-war", what if we were "pro-peace"? Instead of  being "against the death penalty", what if we were "for life in prison"? What if instead of being "against animal cruelty" we were "for the humane treatment of animals"? As Newton states in his third law, "To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction; for every 'anti' there is a 'pro', so why not embrace it?

We all have choices and how we choose to react shapes our lives. If we all chose to live our lives by coming from a place of love and compassion instead of a place of hate and judgment, I really do think we could make the world a better place.