Great advice and information... Here is what I found on the Ellen Show website:

Tips from Nutritionist Dr. Neal Barnard and How You Can Win His Book! On Monday, Ellen had a candid discussion about diets with leading clinical researcher and nutritionist Dr. Neal Barnard. According to Dr. Barnard, each year the average American consumes 205 pounds of sugar, 10 pounds of chocolate and 32 pounds of cheese! Here are some of Dr. Barnard’s healthy alternatives to sugar, chocolate, cheese and even meat.

Alternatives to sugar:

Fresh fruit -- As a dessert, or as a snack; keep some sliced cantaloupe in your refrigerator, for example.
Maple syrup -- It’s sugary, but is so flavorful that people consume less.
Stevia


Alternatives to chocolate:

Cocoa powder -- Can be used for chocolate-dipped fruit, for example. Only the thin outer surface is chocolate.
Carob -- doesn’t cause migraines, as chocolate can.
Chocolate sorbet -- lower in fat and calories, compared with chocolate ice cream.


Alternatives to cheese:

Soy cheese -- widely available, but variable in quality.
Nutritional yeast -- makes a cheesy flavor in sauces and casseroles.
Avocado -- has the “mouth-feel” of cheese, without cholesterol or animal fat.


Alternatives to meat:

Veggie dogs, burgers, deli slices, etc.
Beans -- for burritos, tacos, and sauces.
Seitan -- a wheat derivative that tastes like meat.
TVP, tofu, and tempeh -- soy products that can simulate meat.

Breaking the Food Seduction: Free Yourself from Unhealthy Foods

Order Breaking the Food Seduction Today

If you saw Neal Barnard, M.D., on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, you know that many people are hooked on unhealthy foods ranging from chocolate to cheese. Do you know that Ellen DeGeneres loves Oreo Sandwich Cookies? She's not alone. To some people, chocolate is an occasional treat. But for a true chocolate addict, it is a deep-seated need. It's even likely that someone you know has a food addiction that they are trying to break.

As Dr. Barnard discussed with Ellen and her audience, his research shows that diet and lifestyle changes can break these stubborn craving cycles. Evidence suggests that a hefty portion of our current epidemics of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and other health problems are, in fact, nothing but the natural outcomes of food habits exerting their effects year after year.

In Dr. Barnard’s book, Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings—and Seven Steps to End Them Naturally, he outlines a path for conquering those unhealthy food addictions. In addition to fascinating insights into the chemical reasons behind cravings and important advice on how to halt kids’ sugar cravings, Breaking the Food Seduction also offers these seven simple steps to break craving cycles:

Seven Steps to Breaking the Food Seduction

1. Start with a good breakfast. Cutting hunger is the first step in cutting cravings.

2. Choose foods that steady your blood sugar. Beans, green vegetables, fruit, and whole grains help prevent blood sugar dips that can lead to cravings.

3. Eat at least 10 calories each day per pound of your ideal body weight. This tip is directed at calorie-cutting dieters who do not realize that, if they eat too little, their bodies stop making an appetite-controlling hormone called leptin. A person whose ideal weight is 150 pounds needs at least 1,500 calories per day, and probably much more.

4. Break out of craving cycles, which can occur daily, monthly (with a woman’s cycle), or yearly (with the change in seasons). Monthly chocolate cravings, for example, can be reduced with a low-fat, vegetarian diet, which tends to reduce the hormone swings that lead to cravings.

5. Exercise and rest are keys to restoring your physical resilience.

6. Use social support. Enlisting the help of friends and family makes changing habits much easier.

7. Take advantage of other motivators. New parents, for example, may decide to eat healthy foods not just for themselves, but for the sake of their children.

Neal Barnard, M.D., to Appear on Ellen Today!

Monday, September 29th





How people get hooked on unhealthy food—
and how to get unhooked.



Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine President Neal Barnard, M.D., will appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Monday, September 29, to discuss his three week “kick-start” program and other tips to help eliminate unhealthy food cravings and get you on the road to better health. 

In his groundbreaking book, Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings—and Seven Steps to End Them Naturally, Dr. Barnard discusses how our biochemistry, not our willpower may be sabotaging our efforts to get healthy. Based on extensive research, Breaking the Food Seduction outlines seven easy steps to stop the cycle of food cravings.

I could not decide which section to post this in as it covers much territory...

I found this information (Posted below image) while looking for some facts, stats, or motivational words for the new VeganBliss post cards that I'm getting printed for my Etsy shop. Here is what they will look like on the front:

OK, but I need your help...
Which of these factoids do you think would make the most drive to the average person on the broad spectrum? Please leave your comments and your thoughts...
I need this to be relatively short so there will be room for you to write your own notes and address on the card. Thank you for your help!

Vegan Facts ->
The Hunger Argument:
Number of People worldwide who will die of starvation this year: 60 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed with the grain saved if Americans reduced meat intake by 10%: 60 million
Human beings in America: 243 million
Number of people who could be fed with grain and soybeans now eaten by US livestock: 1.3 billion
Percentage of corn grown in US eaten by people: 20%
Percentage of corn grown in US eaten by livestock: 80%
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90%
Percentage of oats grown in US eaten by livestock: 95%
How frequently a child starves to death: every 2 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 20, 000 lbs
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 165 lbs
Percentage of US farmland devoted to beef production: 56%
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 pound of feedlot beef: 16 lbs.

The Environmental Argument:
Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: Carbon Dioxide from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce a meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 50 times more
Percentage of US topsoil lost to date: 75%
Percentage of US topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85%
Number of acres of US forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million acres
Amount of meat US imports annually from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama: 200, 000, 000 pounds
Average per capita meat consumption in Costa Rica, El Salveador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama: Less than eaten by average US house cat
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pounder hamburger: 55 sq. ft.
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1, 000 species extinct per year

The Cancer Argument:
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat four times a week vs. less than once a week: 4 times
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat eggs daily vs less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat cheese and butter 3 or more times a week vs less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times
The Natural Resources Argument:
User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the US: Livestock production
Amount of water to produce a pound of wheat: 25 gallons
Amount of water to produce a pound of meat: 2, 500 gallons
Cost of common hamburger if water used by meat industry was not subsidized by US taxpayer: $35/pound
Current cost of pound of protein from beefsteak, if water was no longer subsidized: $89
Years the world's known oil reserves will last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13 years
Years the world's known oil reserves will last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260 years
Barrels of oil imported into US daily: 6.8 million
Percentage of fossil fuel energy returned as food energy by most efficient factory farming of meat: 34.5 percent
Percentage returned as food energy from least efficient plant food: 328%
Percentage of raw materials consumed by US to produce present meat-centered diet: 33%

The Cholesterol Argument:
Number of US Medical Schools: 125
Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average US physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours
Most common cause of death in the US: Heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in the US: Every 45 seconds
Average US man's risk of death from heart attack: 50%
Risk for average US man who avoids the meat-centered diet: 15%
Risk for average US vegan man: 4%
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of animal products by 10 percent: 9%
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of animal products by 50 percent: 45%
Amount you reduce risk by changing to a vegan diet: 90 percent
Meat, dairy, and egg industries claim you should not be concerned about your blood cholesterol if it is: "normal"
Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries if your blood cholesterol is "normal": greater than 50%

The Antibiotic Argument:
Percentage of US antibiotics fed to livestock: 55%
Percentage of staph infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13%
Percentage of staph infections resistant to penicillin in 1988: 91%
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Ban
Response of US meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Full and complete support

The Pesticide Argument:
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by grains: 1%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by fruits: 4%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by vegetables: 6%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by dairy products: 23%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by meat: 55%
Pesticide contamination of breast milk from meat eating mothers vs non-meat eating: 35 times higher
What USDA tells us: Meat is inspected
Percentage of slaughtered animals inspected for residues of toxic chemicals such as dioxin and DDT: less than 0.00004%

The Ethical Argument:
Number of animals killed for meat per hour in US: 500, 000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in US: Slaughterhouse Worker
Occupation with the highest rate of on-the-job injury in US: Slaughterhouse
Worker Cost to render animal unconscious with "captive bolt pistol": 1 cent
Reason given by meat industry for not using "captive bolt pistol": Too expensive