The V Word.

I've known I was lactose-intolerant for a little over a year now. I replaced milk with soy milk and it was amazing. But even after I found out about my intolerance I continued to eat cheese and dairy based products. They didn't bother my stomach as much as an entire glass of milk would. I self-diagnosed myself with mild lactose-intolerance. It wasn't until after reading the book "Skinny Bitch" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, that I decided to give up dairy based products completely. If you think about it, mammals produce milk to feed and fatten their offspring after they've given birth. We produce milk to turn a tiny, helpless infant into a screaming, energetic toddler. That's about 16 pounds of baby. A cow, on the other hand, has to produce milk to turn a calf into a 2,000 pound cow. Milk is not only unnecessary for your body, it's not as natural as we think it is. Women stop producing milk after their baby is done nursing. That's how it works for all of the other mammals on this planet also, including cows. The milk industry injects the cows with hormones that force them to lactate. The hormones make their way into the milk and meat the industries sell and eventually make their way onto your plates and into your bodies. The milk industry also slips chemicals into your cheese that actually makes it addictive. There are plenty more reasons that explain why milk and dairy based products aren't very beneficial to your bodies but they're not too pretty and I'll let you gross yourself out with your own research.

I've given up every single dairy based product on the face of the planet and I've also given up meat. After reading "Skinny Bitch" and doing my own research on meat industries and our bodies, the thought of eating meat makes me queasy. Take a look at our teeth. They're not sharp and pointed like a tiger. They're flat for grinding vegetables, not sharp for tearing apart muscle. Carnivorous animals also possess an enzyme in their mouths that breaks down muscle (meat) and makes it easier to digest. Humans don't have that enzyme. It takes meat about 10 times longer to digest in our bodies than it does vegetables, fruits, and grains. The time our body spends digesting meat takes an incredible amount of energy, leaving us tired. That's why carnivorous animals sleep all day long.

The meat industry is the nastiest industry in America. The treatment of the livestock is inhumane and discusting. The animals injected with hormones and forced into tiny little crates from the day they're born until the day they're slaughter. Sounds like good ole' fashion torture to me. The research I've found about the meat industry is by far the worst bit of information I've ever read. I would be pleased to share it with anyone but I don't like to preach. It's changed my mind about the so-called food pyramid and daily nutritional requirements.

I don't preach my opinion and knowledge about the milk and meat industry. I know people don't like to hear that what they're consuming is bad for them. I also don't tell many people about my dietary habits. It's not embarrassing, I just don't like the ignorant questions I receive. Such as, "Where do you get your protein?" or "Are your bones going to get weak?" It's pretty annoying. I am aiming to become a nutritionist or a dietition. I believe I know what is healthy for me and what isn't. I don't eat dairy and I don't eat meat. I am what they call a vegan -the V word- I hate that word but I love being one.

Rest In Peace

Sunday I found out one of my best friends father passed away. He was 43. He was so sick with cancer for a very long time. It's been really hard on my friend and every one who knew his father. The calling hours are Wednesday at 1 p.m. I will be going home after my 8 a.m. class to pay my respects.

The type of cancer he had was throat cancer which spread throughout his body. He got the cancer from years of smoking. Smoking is such a dirty, consequential habit. I was looking at my friends pack of cigarrettes one day and I never noticed that tobacco companies don't put the nasty ingredients on the package. WHY? Half of the people who smoke would probably quit and the potential smokers would never want to start. Smoking is discusting.

Snow Day

So today was the first snow day of the semester and I was most likely the only student on this campus who wasn't happy about it. I missed a class that I really needed to go to today because I needed the review for my final. Today was very unproductive.

I really don't like the snow. Other than snowboarding, there's really nothing about it that pleases me. I hate walking it in because it soaks my shoes and the wind up here in Cortland is so strong when it snows that I can barely see when I walk around the campus. Snow also messes up my tires. My traction was off a little bit Sunday when I had to go to Syracuse and my wind-shield wipers were frozen. Oh and the salt! The salt the plows put on the road to melt the ice completely ruins my shoes, makes me car really dirty, and creates gross slush. Sure, it's totally helpful because it does melt the dangerous ice but I still hate that I can't wear my warm suede boots and I have to get my car washed every week.