Select letters from The AquarianSeptember 12, 2003Vegan for lifeI certainly agree with your editorial. I wanted to become a vegetarian since I found out at age 10 what happens to farm animals. Unfortunately my parents thought that eliminating meat would be a dangerous choice, and there were few if any books on the subject. I finally made the full move to becoming a vegan after I was married. I had done some research, and read Dr Neal Barnard's book, Food for Life. This gave me a good example of what to eat to stay healthy. I've been a vegan for almost 15 yearrs now with no apparent health problems. I would never go back to eating meat or any animal products. Doing so would be contributing to the torturing and slaughtering of animals.
Cyndi Horstmanshof
Spring Hill, Florida
from The Aquarian, Fall 2003The vegetarian spirit must be willingI'm writing to tell you that I sure loved what you had to say in "A Wasting Disease" [Editorial, Summer 2003]. I can just hear you being accused of being "over-emotional." It reminds me of how embarrassed I was, about 24 years ago, when a mother told her young son that "Bettie doesn't eat meat because she feels sorry for animals being killed." I protested that that certainly wasn't my motivation at all, that it was for health reasons. I just didn't have the courage of an attack on my convictions, as you have shown publicly that you do.
Might I add that I don't think it does much good to try to graft nutritional arguments onto animal rights arguments. A moderate meat intake not only doesn't do any harm, but I've seen it improve the health of at-death's-door vegans. It seems that vegetarianism works only if undertaken for "emotional" or religious motivation. Meat-eating is indeed part of our biological heritage (we have four canine teeth) and I think – as others do, also – that the spirit has to be deeply moved before we can overcome that biology. And the reverse is true: you can ache for animals struggling to live, yet feel a need for animal flesh.
Please continue your anti-cruelty writing – it's so good.
I've a bunch of hens that I'll never kill (God willing) and I can't get rid of the eggs because the yolks are so orange! People are repelled. I have fed so many of these eggs to the magpies and crows in our yard.
Bettie MalofieNew vegetarian restaurant
Near Winnipeg
I really enjoyed your article "Veg' City" in the Summer issue. Just to let you know of the newest veggie restaurant which I just love (I am a vegetarian). It is called Apna Punjab – I am going by memory here – located at 88 Mandalay, and I think their phone number is 633-1600; it is an awesome Indian buffet – amazing and very well priced, very nice and friendly service.
Thanks so much for doing an awesome article ["Organic Eat Market"] which included Winnipeg's other vegetarian restaurants and the Winnipeg Vegetarian Association – which is truly a great group.
Sylvia HeldThanks. We heard about the Inkster Park area restaurant just after the last issue came out. We're told it's changing its name to Punjab Sweet House & Restaurant.
Winnipeg
January 4, 2001Mystic Wedding, Anyone?Greetings!
I very much appreciate your publications, and as I was wandering around in this site, I was reminded of my current challenge.
I was wondering if anyone might have some hints as to where I might begin researching some wedding rituals coming from a mystic perspective. Actually any wedding material from a new spiritual concept would be excellent.
If anyone has any clues as to where I might start digging, you can e-mail me : paxbene@hotmail.com
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Blessings to All!
Meagan Spiring
from The Aquarian, Winter 2000Copper Overload: A Commonly Overlooked Condition?About two years ago I was diagnosed with something called "copper overload." I had seen many traditional M.D.s, but none could figure out what was wrong with me. I had severe fatigue, a racing mind, yeast problems, bad sinus congestion, muscle twitching, prostate problems, and severe emotional ups and downs. Things got worse. Among other things, my job stress mounted and I started to have problems with circulation in my hands and legs. I also got laid off.
My doctor thought I had MS (multiple sclerosis), but when my MRI came back normal, he didn't know what to do with me. He ordered many tests that also came back normal. He implied it was all in my head and prescribed antidepressants (that's what doctors do when they can't find anything wrong with you).
I was now branded a hypochondriac. After many more wasted trips to traditional doctors pushing various pharmaceuticals on me, I finally found a naturopathic doctor. She suggested hair analysis to determine what's going on with my body on a cellular level. That's how I found out I had very high copper levels and numerous secondary deficiencies and excesses. My ND suggested a change in diet and supplements to help chelate (bind and remove) the copper from my system. I felt relieved, yet when I went to my traditional doctor to tell him the findings, he just laughed and told me I was wasting my money. With more stress, my symptoms again got worse. I became hypothyroid. My morning body temperature fell to 95.5 degrees F., and I was suffering from dry skin and eyes, poor digestion and severe constipation, among other symptoms.
I searched everywhere for information about copper overload. I found nothing. Finally, after a year of chasing my tail and not really keeping up with my copper-free diet, I came across a book by Ann Louise Gittleman called Why Am I Always So Tired? Discover How Correcting Your Body's Copper Imbalance Can Keep Your Body from Giving Out Before Your Mind Does . . . (1999, Harper San Francisco). Finally a book about copper overload! I learned that not all people get it - usually it's slow metabolisers, like myself. I realized that the unresolved stress in my life was depleting my body of zinc (which is the antagonist to copper). [Editor's note: Copper and zinc both are essential nutrients that become toxic in excess.] The more stress, the less zinc, and the more copper builds up and impairs your endocrine system, especially your adrenal and thyroid glands. My diet, I found out, was full of copper - nuts, seeds, chocolate, seafood, beer, and lots of soy products (yes, soy!), which all contributed to my condition. I truly felt God wanted me to find that book. What a relief!
I'm not back to normal yet. I still suffer from "copper dumps," but my erratic mood swings are not nearly as severe or emotional. I'm much calmer. My energy is up enough that I can work again. My prostate problems have gone away, though my sex drive is not yet up to snuff. The effects of hypothyroidism brought about by too much copper are still my biggest challenge. Every case of copper overload is different. Depending on how severe and how deeply stored the copper is in your body, it could take a couple months or a few years to recover. I don't claim to be an expert, but I do suggest anyone who suspects they may have copper overload see a naturopathic doctor and get a hair analysis done. It just may be the best investment you'll ever make!
Sincerely,
Ryan McDonald
ryan@escape.ca
Thanks for your letter, Ryan. While copper overload is well known to nutritionally-oriented medical and naturopathic doctors, most doctors are only aware of the rare, genetically-determined, and ultimately fatal form of progressive copper overload called Wilson's disease. The milder form of copper overload appears to have been discovered by the orthomolecular psychiarist Carl Pfeiffer in the 1970s. Some researchers have also documented a tendency to high copper (and usually low zinc) in people with certain medical disorders. According to Pfeiffer, copper water pipes, cigarettes, and high-copper supplements are among the usual causes, and, as you've found, zinc and other copper antagonists are the major treatments. Gittleman's book sounds like a good resource.Syd Baumel
Editor
from The Aquarian, Spring 2000Death: The Greatest Mystery of LifeI found it amusing that we read an outdated remark from 1899 that everything that can be invented has already been invented, and in the same issue [Winter 1999] we read an article by an energy worker seriously stating that he knows for sure what happens when we die! Yet death is and remains (despite speculation) the greatest mystery of life! Since childhood, I have always strongly felt the infinity of my soul. I have heard many, many, many renditions of what happens after we die, but I "know" that what it REALLY is cannot be defined with our human limited minds. We go somewhere, yes. We grow, yes. But to go into further details is like a newborn attempting long division!
I enjoy reading The Aquarian.
Peace, Joy, Love, Abundance,
Dee Black
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