socalfusions

Thank you for the kind words it means a lot.

Your reassurance means so much to me, thank you.

My shih tzu, Charlie, was my closest friend that I could relate to more than anyone I knew. He was 12 years old and in questionable shape having near blindess, constant mucus build up in his eyes, ear infections, cancer growths on his body and a cyst on his neck. The mucus build up is common in shih tzu's, the ear infection was being treated with natural ear creme and the cancer growths were found out late after he started receiving regular short haircuts. The large bump on his neck was classified to be a cyst by our dog groomer who said it would naturally pop by itself but was constantly scratched at by Charlie. Generally he was constantly scratching and biting at his body to what I would assume would be inflammated areas caused by cancer or some other problem. The main things that made me question whether he should be put to sleep is that he ate regularly and had no problem climbing stairs or running. Of course like any pet the decision to euthanize them is incredibly difficult to make considering that the pet might be comfortable with any problems they may have while the owner might think differently. I came to the conclusion that after seeing Charlie appear to be in discomfort constantly after a full stomach and not in need of going to the bathroom that it had to be one of his conditions that were causing this and after my family agreed that he should be euthanized he was taken in today. He was extremely nervous on the car ride, shaking most of the way, although he generally dislikes car rides. At the office I'm sure being nearly blind in addition to the smells and general nervous energy associated at a vet office he was understandably discomforted. After we had gone into a room he was very alert and when he had the catheter put into his leg he was terrified, constantly moaning and whining, which made me very unconfident in my choice of euthanizing him. I remembered why I brought him and felt it was for the best. As he shook in fear of the unknown the doctor came in with the syringe and put a hand on his paw to which he stopped shaking, probably wondering what would happen next, then as the syringe was pressed he slowly faded away to wherever life takes us when we go. There was some deep connection that was ripping at my entire being which made me put myself in Charlies shoes and felt the fear and the unknown that he was and I can't get over it by thinking that I made some informed decision based on the fact that I knew what was best for him simply because he couldn't speak to me. I'm asking this here because I feel this is a great community and know I can get trustworthy opinions on whether I made the right decision on my friend.

Do chia seeds in fact help hydrate you more than just drinking water? Can chia seeds absorb other nutrients beside water such as electrolytes, simple sugars, nitrates/nitrous oxide and release them as you exercise? Chia seeds are said to have been used for long distance journeys with just water and they would provide enough nourishment to take care of your hydration needs. Thoughts?

I do plan on filling out a ambassador form, I was just in search of some insight of what it's all about and ways to better represent myself to get accepted by them. Larabars are great! How did you manage to become an ambassador for them? Do you get free or discounted merchandise or any other benefits?

What does it take to become a Vega Ambassador? I see in the FAQ that you don't need to be a high profile athlete to be considered. Iirc Robert is a Ambassador for Vega, what are the benefits of being sponsored by them? Do you have any advice on improving ones chances of becoming an ambassador?

Give me your secrets!

I posted this in the martial arts forum but theres not a lot of traffic and it seemed appropriate here. This subject has been on my mind daily for a long time now, I've really not seen a lot of talk about it which is why I decided to make this thread. In a sport like MMA it would appear you'd want every advantage you could get and a highly alkaline vegan diet seems like it would be superior to an acidic omnivorous diet where most mmartists get their protein from animal products. Off the top of my head I would say you'd have stronger and healthier skin which would prevent cuts, you'd have a faster recovery time, more endurance and stronger bones from the diet being very alkaline, more bloodflow to your vital organs from cholesterol free foods, ability to control your weight easier from much cleaner foods and an overall better sense of well being. I'd love to hear everyone else's facts, thoughts and beliefs towards this subject as there are only a handful of vegan mmartists professionally fighting and I believe as the sport evolves so will the diets of those participating.

This subject has been on my mind daily for a long time now, I've really not seen a lot of talk about it which is why I decided to make this thread. In a sport like MMA it would appear you'd want every advantage you could get and a highly alkaline vegan diet seems like it would be superior to an acidic omnivorous diet where most mmartists get their protein from animal products. Off the top of my head I would say you'd have stronger and healthier skin which would prevent cuts, you'd have a faster recovery time, more endurance and stronger bones from the diet being very alkaline, more bloodflow to your vital organs from cholesterol free foods, ability to control your weight easier from much cleaner foods and an overall better sense of well being. I'd love to hear everyone else's facts, thoughts and beliefs towards this subject as there are only a handful of vegan mmartists professionally fighting and I believe as the sport evolves so will the diets of those participating.

I'm looking for a paid position in an animal rights orginization and frequently see job offers from grassroots campaigns to campaign against animal cruelty. Is this orginization reputable and legitimate in the sense that they don't support such things as free range meat and dairy products etc.? From what I understand they are a non abolitionist orginization as just about every abolitionist orginization is usually volunteer, correct me if I'm wrong. Should I consider any other animal rights groups in the San diego area?

Thanks a lot, made it and was delicious!

Anyone make this? Can you make it without soymilk or any other vegan milk? What do you eat it with?

What bars would you consider to be the healthiest? Superfood slam seems to be up there at a glance at them. Can any athlete get sponsered, that would be amazing to get all you can eat bars

haha thats great!

Big fan of Fedor here. no he's not a carnivore at all, He eats a ton of potatoes and a bunch of plant foods, but also eats animal foods. The main reason he breaks his hands is becasue his ground and pound is so hard much more so then other fighters and the way he punches some times he hits with the small to knuncles Ya I meant to say omnivore woops Exactly his unorthodox striking is the reason why he breaks his hand bones so frequently in addition to his relentlessness. I assume since Fedor probably has one of the most rigorous weight bearing exercise routines along with his other workouts that he has pretty solid bone strength although I hear he eats pretty care free like his fight with Crocop he ate bacon, eggs, and sausage the day before the fight. So pretty much if Fedor breaks bones does that mean anyone else would to if they were competing at his level and fought with his style? Another interesting thing I came across after I read VeganJoe's article on beet root juice increasing stamina viewtopic.php?f=46&t=18859 was that Fedors favorite food is Borsch which contains beets as a main ingredient. Could this be one of his secret weapons that allows him to NEVER gas in a fight?

Do squats give you legs like these? http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/images3/killer_legs.gif

Thanks for the fast responses. So a raw vegan diet in addition to weight bearing exercises would be the best way to increase bone strength? When I see athletes, particularly in MMA such as Fedor Emelianenko, I'm amazed at his ability to dominate in every aspect of the sport but one of his biggest weaknesses is broken bones and cuts to his skin. He is a carnivore which naturally is a highly acidic lifestyle and perhaps could attribute to his weakened bone strength and skin? I sometimes ponder how much more he could acheive with a vegan diet.

When does the amount of vitamin C and D you intake become irrelevant? I've thought about this a lot when I see high contact sports athletes break bones and was very curious to if you can prevent it by taking the maximum safe amount of bone strengthening nutrients?

What a coincidence! I picked that product up about a week ago and do admit it tastes good. It does use three sweeteners including stevia, xylitol, and fructose, I have the vanilla one and want to try the berry. Chia seed is amazing I always drink some with water before I run. I see a lot of protein powders coming out with the pea hemp rice lately. Vega tastes good with that combo and so does this one.

Out of pea/hemp/rice what combination of them would you say tastes the best? I've read one of Troy's posts saying that pea/rice has the highest amino profile. I also heard that hemp is the worst tasting of the three but would love to hear what you all have to say.

Would you prefer to have bcaa's in a protein powder? After reading about them they seem pretty beneficial for building muscle and even if you're not as they promote hair growth and various other things. I've read that they have a flavor to them, has anyone experienced this?

Would you say that the banana in the chocolate banana is noticeable? Have you tried the chocolate and if so what do you think of it? Between the strawberrys and creme and strawberry which would you say tastes better and is the creme in the strawberrys and creme vegan? Thanks all!

Any recommendations from those that have tried the natural premium flavor line over at trueprotein? Generally I hear that stevia is on the bitter side and usually isn't too strong, but can't you just add more of it? The berry flavor for Vega tastes great to me with water and I believe it uses stevia for it's sweetener.

thank you

Hey all, I was wondering how you determine what vitamins & minerals a broad spectrum protein combo such as pea, hemp, and rice is lacking? What ingredients would you add to the powder to get the 100% recommended daily amount? Is it as simple as just adding the actual vitamin & mineral into the powder? Also is a pea, hemp, rice protein considered alkaline/raw?