Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life

such as fresh corn on the cob.
     

wheat and gluten
     
    Gluten, the protein found in wheat, is difficult for some people to digest. High levels of gluten are not historically natural to our diet; they are a modern creation. Ancient grains such as spelt and barley contain small amounts of gluten, which most people can tolerate without any problem. Ancient grains can be a healthy addition to your diet if your system can tolerate small amounts of gluten. Wheat, however, is not a natural food. It has been “encouraged” to grow the way it does today to produce a better crop yield. As with corn, ancient grains were cultivated thousands of years ago to produce more food on less land, and the accompanying result was higher levels of gluten in the crop. Unfortunately, the consequence of eating it is often mild to severe digestive problems—ranging from simply feeling subpar to allergic reactions and celiac disease. Gluten-rich foods are also fairly acid-forming. Wheat, or a derivative, is in nearly all processed food.
     

dairy
     
    Cow’s milk comes from a lactating cow. Natural unpasteurized milk from a mother cow is an ideal source of nourishment—for the calf. When the milk is fed to humans, it is no longer being used as it was intended. Many people, especially adults, experience digestive problems when consuming cow’s milk. The same holds true for goat’s and sheep’s milk, and products made from all these milks. It is common for people to have a food sensitivity because their body is not used to a certain food. Asians are most prone to dairy sensitivities since consuming dairy products has traditionally not been part of their culture: Their bodies have not had as much time to build up a resistance to it. Most people, of Asian origin or not, who eliminate dairy products find that they feel better and lose weight more easily. Most healthy bodies are capable of building a resistance to small amounts of dairy; however, in doing so it uses energy and reduces the effectiveness of the immune system.
     

soy
     
    Soy has traditionally been eaten in Asia as a condiment, not as a main course. Since the Western world has embraced soy as a meat substitute, it has found its way into our diets on a large scale—as the base for imitation meat products, soy has become a staple for many who have made the shift from meat. I certainly view this as progress; however, some people have not experienced the vitality they were seeking when switching to a plant-based diet. Many North Americans who consumed soy at every meal developed a sensitivity to it over the course of a few years. Soy milk on cereal in the morning, a tofu burger for lunch, and a tofu stir-fry for dinner—these are common in the diet of newly health-conscious people.
     
    Some experts are calling soy the new gluten, meaning that it is being used as filler in many processed foods. Even when not apparent, soy, as with gluten and corn, is in nearly all processed foods, and we risk developing an intolerance to it. However, eating organic tofu once a week or so as your only source of soy is a perfectly healthy option, if you don’t have a sensitivity to it. I suggest you follow the Asian lead and have soy products as condiments to meals, not as the main course.
     

active yeast
     
    There are two categories of yeast: inactive and active. Nutritional yeast is inactive, meaning that it is no longer growing. It is yeast that has been grown on molasses and then harvested and pasteurized, rendering it inactive. It will not feed on sugars in the body or promote candida albicans, a yeast-like fungus that lives in the digestive tract. It is a nutrient-packed healthy food (I discuss it in detail in Chapter 5, page 158).
     
    Active yeast, on the other hand, is living and needs sugar to survive once in contact with moisture. Used to make bread dough rise, it is a standard ingredient in most baked goods. The yeast feeds on the sugar used when making bread, and it is not destroyed by the heat of baking; it enters our body when we eat the bread and survives by feeding on our body’s sugars. This can cause yeast infections and candidiasis. Some people develop bloating and mild flu-like symptoms when they eat active yeast. However, if you do not experience any trouble from eating food containing active yeast, there is no reason to specifically eliminate it from your diet. If you do choose to eat baked goods containing yeast, be sure to eat those that are made from whole