Plant-based thinking for Christians

[vegrox]

Daniel 1

Daniel requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. God made Daniel find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs. The prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink. For why should he see your faces worse looking than the youths who are of your own age? Then you would endanger my head with the king.”

Daniel said to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: “Test your servants, I beg you, ten days; and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our faces be examined before you, and the face of the youths who eat of the king’s delicacies; and as you see, deal with your servants.” So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days.

At the end of ten days, their faces appeared fairer and they were fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate of the king’s delicacies. So the steward took away their delicacies and the wine that they were given to drink, and gave them vegetables.

[vegrox]

I think food stamp benefits might help you if food is tight, and yet food from produce is not as costly as other things that might be chosen, the variety we can have from vegetables including leafy greens and legumes along with stalks, flowers, tubers, roots and bulbs counted among them, and whole grains, nuts, and seeds will help out health greatly.

[vegrox]

Having meat permitted was really a concession as God knew people were already inclined to use animals and have meat or anything from them, the design to start with was already ignored by them.

I care about being healthy still and this is the healthiest way, with having all the variety of food from plants that I can manage having in meals, this is including generally having legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grain including bread and pasta from that, and leafy greens along with fruits and vegetables the colors of the rainbow. Any are not right to just ignore studies, or doctors with their results, including Alona Pulde, MD; Matthew Lederman, MD; T. Colin Cambell, PhD; Caldwell Esselstyn, MD; Dean Ornish, MD; John McDougall, MD; and Neal Barnard, MD. My own results of ten years with this healthy way I found and being a vegan twelve and a half years and without meat much longer is keeping me quite youthful while I age in numbers, it is benefiting me regardless of the things I saw or heard others predicting.

https://healthyaging.emory.edu/could-eating-30-plants-a-week-be-the-answer-to-better-health/

[vegrox]

With increasing variety of plants for food until I get it to thirty for each week, which is very much more healthy, if I can manage it carrying my food back that couple of miles walking and eating it all myself, I would still have to be sure it will taste good enough that I will continue with it. And I am doing what is needed for that a long while. I think using the hummus and medium salsa in all the cooked meals is the best, still for the variety I am getting guacamole more now, and it is not bad in my meals, at all, with the rest, and jackfruit is good with it too, as I had found to be the case with seitan. I use tasty healthy seasonings with these meals too. With the variety of vegetables, cut up in each meal, some alternating, and always with leafy greens, I very often have lentils and just about always nuts and seeds. These meals are great.

[vegrox]

Late in life I found information that we could be healthy without meat in our diet and saw I could continue without it, and was happy with thinking this way did not contribute to the slaughter of animals. That was just about 20 years ago. It was before I was online. But with use of online access, I learned in group communication about the issues to all animals in the industries, the effect on environment, the greater use of land, water, and resources, I knew to give up all animal products. A couple of years later I learned the healthy which I chose to do then eating whole foods from plants with avoiding processed stuff that gets added in things many people choose to eat. There was the design for this way which I had found in the start, it really is meant for us, it will be that way again among those coming to God, even in eternity, while sinning separates us from God. Being more like Jesus in our values would be better than any of the ways being shown in this world. And he would say it was not so in the beginning. When we might pray "Your will on earth as it is in heaven" we should mean it with how we will live now.

[vegrox]

God designed the universe just right for having life in it. God values life, so God values life in the universe without limit. It godly for any to grow in this way. It is best to respect life and not cause harm to life, if it can be avoided. The Bible shows with Genesis 1:29:

God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

And... This was the only time in the Bible God said anything was very good. The only ideal is there. Any changes are from us sinning, but repentance is needed and we should not go on sinning.

[vegrox]

God caring for all life in the universe, as Creator with this universe made just right that life is possible in it, is argument that we are to care enough to not contribute to harm being done to animals, and telling others that. I have Christian values, and veganism is entirely consistent with the Christianity that I know. Killing is not from God's plan, God alone has authority over duration of life for any. God started creation caring for all in it, and God saw that it was very good. Anything different from what God ever said is accommodation for the sinfulness and hardened hearts among humans, God still does not will for any to perish.

[vegrox]

Original Christianity was not inclusive of the use of slaughtered animals, that was brought in with the change to it being gentile Christianity. Christians now in general will argue against that, still.

[vegrox]

I am vegan for over twelve years, and without buying meat half a dozen more years. When I was vegetarian I came to thinking it was good to not contribute to animals being killed. Later on with being more informed when I had started being online, I saw I should become vegan to be consistent. Within a few years of this I found the healthy way that we can have just eating of all the fresh food that is grown, to eat that will avoid certain common serious health issues. I do wish many more people were trying this. Healthiness with ways of eating is something I am very happy to have found and would share it where I can.

[vegrox]

The Book of Revelation at the end of the Bible is full of prophecies with symbols, and many have their own interpretations of those. There is the passage in Revelation 11 that ties right back to Genesis 1, in the eighteenth verse we see something God hates, and it might not be known why but for when God made the first humans as shown. In verse 26 it is shown that God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Being made in God's image is connected in this one passage saying that with being given responsibility for good stewardship in the world, being in God's place to maintain it, and the immediate context shows it is without using it for anything and without killing for what is had. It was for good stewardship as it was then at the start. So it makes sense that God hates the destruction to this which is God's creation, and does still belong to God.

[vegrox]

[vegrox]

My best communication to non vegan Christians yet

The design in the beginning, so good that it alone God called very good, was what Jesus referred to when saying, it was not so in the beginning, meaning what was meant for us. How can that be missed, or ignored?

The issues with animal agriculture are serious. Not just with the horrendous treatment of animals, that Proverbs 12:10 says is wickedness, such that we should not want to contribute to with our demand for what comes from those animals in such conditions for what we choose to have. It is just as involved as it would be with an animal we keep ourselves, we still affect the use of the animals.

There is the demand for much more resources. Animals have to fed during all the life they have until being slaughtered, all the feed grown uses much more land, uses much more water, uses much more fuel and other resources, while there is more loss of natural environments for it, and there is a huge rate of extinction of species with that being involved. This is alongside the current depletion of oceans from use of sea life for the demands of food and products from that. And there is huge contribution of methane into the atmosphere from use of farmed land animals and mainly cattle, while this contribution to any of the carbon compounds into the atmosphere must be drastically reduced to avoid worsening conditions from climate differences. And, there is so much waste ruining land, that should have more attention then it does.

And our health does not need animal products. There is the healthy way without animal products that I talk about, and have become experienced with. Vitamin supplements to have along with it, which I hear as an objection, which is so lame, is not an issue. So many people should be getting some supplements for what would be missing in their diet anyway, that not being known means poorer health for any of you not aware of what you should supplement. Whole food from plants without processed stuff is so very healthy, I benefit from this, cancers can be avoided, circulatory issues can be too, and many other problems to health, with this way.

I am not talking about saving all animals from suffering. That is not realistic, other than suffering in this world being from our sins, and we should not go on sinning. Knowing God's will and doing what is according to that is relevant and good to do. Animals used for our demand is something we can stop contributing to, too.

The whole idea that God created sentient beings that can suffer, and they are capable of experiencing joys in life, and bonds with others, for being used in any conditions whatsoever ever and be slaughtered for our use, even while there are health issues to us from much use of those products from them, is really repulsive. If any of you do not see that, I still do and cannot possibly ignore it. I know God is better than that. God is good, God is loving, and God cares. I know God is not limited, and God does not change.

So whatabouts do not matter. If any of this has to be ignored for using some other passages, those must be understood wrongly. That is all there is to it. These things still matter ... a lot.

I yet have meals I really like, a lot more than what I used to like that I thought would be hard to go without, but, they were not. They just have addictive substances that contribute greatly to the thinking that they are too good to go without. But, I was over those easily, within not many days afterward, and I did not and still do not miss any of those things, even very many years later. My meals now are really tasty. That is an important thing with the change.

This is a typical way I have a cooked meal I make. It is whole grain pasta when it is not cut up potato or quinoa, and rarely I have used brown rice, and several cut up vegetables, including leafy green, usually cabbage, and hummus, medium salsa, sometimes guacamole, sometimes a bit of jackfruit or seitan, and with seeds and nuts. I on some occasions add some of the dried seaweed I buy to it. I also use seasonings I like.

All this that I use is whole food that is all from plants. This is tasty and it is very healthy to keep having.

> Evidence-Based Information on Iron Intake from Plant-Based Diets

>

> 1. Official Professional Societies

> •    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: “Appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits …”

> https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27886704/

> https://www.andeal.org/files/files/Vegetarian/VegetarianPP_2025.pd

> •    British Dietetic Association: same position

> https://www.vegansociety.com/whats-new/news/british-dietetic-association-confirms-vegan-diets-support-healthy-living

> . Mechanisms & Harmful Substances

> •    Heme iron, particularly from red meat, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease – whereas non-heme iron from plants does not.

> https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0939475314002889

> •    Red meat consumption significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease.

> https://lifestylemedicine.org/benefits-plant-based-nutrition-cardiovascular-disease/

> 3. Clinical Studies & Meta-Analyses: Cardiovascular Health

> •    Plant-based diets reduce CVD risk by ~19% and mortality by 16%.

> https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1481363/full

> •    Replacing meat with plant-based alternatives lowers LDL cholesterol by up to 12%.

> https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000291652401428X

> •    Meta-analysis (N > 2.2 million): significantly lower risks for type 2 diabetes (RR 0.82), CVD (RR 0.90), cancer (RR 0.88), and all-cause mortality (RR 0.84) with plant-based diets.

> https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-023-00877-2

> 4. Iron Status & Bioavailability

> •    Non-heme iron (found in plants) is absorbed less efficiently, but the body converts Fe³⁺ into Fe²⁺ and regulates absorption according to demand.

> https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.2c01833

> •    Despite lower bioavailability, relevant iron deficiency is not more common among vegans compared to meat eaters. Average hemoglobin and ferritin levels are comparable across diets.

> https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12174276/

> •    Vegans have higher non-heme iron intake (22 mg/day vs. 14 mg/day in omnivores), indicating physiological adaptation and efficient regulation.

> https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12189169/

> •    Plant-based iron sources (e.g., pumpkin seeds, oats, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, whole grains, nuts, flaxseeds, etc.) provide sufficient iron – especially when combined with vitamin C.

> Gropper, Sareen S., ed. (2018). Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism (Seventh ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning. p. 480. ISBN 978-1-305-62785-7.

> I am not opposed to dietary freedom (so this is not a personal attack) – I am simply opposed to misinformation that can seriously harm patients. I therefore encourage you to consider this evidence-based body of data in your recommendations.

> A well-planned plant-based diet can fully meet iron requirements while demonstrably reducing the risk of chronic diseases. Official professional societies clearly confirm this.

[vegrox]

Guacamole does not need dairy or any milk analog. I do not see that brand anymore. The whole store arrangement is different from how it was when I saw only that brand of guacamole still there and the one I had been using before gone. This newer guacamole from another brand is in a different place (like almost everything there now). The one I got now, not the one that was just running out, is made very spicy. I do use that still.

[vegrox]

There will be some variations in the vegetables I use for a cooked meal that is usual for me, but more of those are generally the same, you know, some kind of pasta noodles with those, when it is not cut up potato I cook, or quinoa, or rice which is generally brown rice, with the hummus and salsa, and seasonings, if I find guacamole without dairy I might add some of that to it too, once in a while a bit of dried seaweed too.

[vegrox]

When I gave up having anything from animals, I really was committed to having all my food from plants, and since the time food I was having was all whole food, it really is, unlike others going vegan who also use fungi.

[vegrox]

Studies are not showing animals do not feel pain, but to the contrary, any being used really do feel. Rather than deal with the cognitive dissonance it is better for even just mental health to consent to avoiding the contribution to suffering with just choosing nothing taken from animals for what to have or to eat. And the extinction rate is related to food choices, that alone gives very great reason to not use products from animals anymore. Nothing persuades me that God really wants us to use animals to eat.

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/food/

[vegrox]

Seitan is easy to get. Now that I found where jackfruit is (right close to seitan, not in the canned items area where I had looked for it for a long time) I am starting with use of it, I did have it before a long time ago now. I find eggplant harder to prepare or use. But jackfruit I get is pretty much prepared anyway, I just heat it up in meals I use it in.

I speak of the animals being feeling sentient beings, there is worse effect to environments and the world with animal agriculture and there is much more water land and resources used, and it isn't even better for our health. So we do not need any of it. All this needs to be said still not telling others what to do, which they will only decide to do themselves, but hopefully the right way.

There is also my group for Telegram Vegans

https://t.me/+CjhzZjl4yVUxYWJh