In case you haven’t noticed, there’s quite a lot going on here in the cryptoverse. From tribes to hardforks, proposals, and enough tokens to make your head spin. I honestly can’t keep track of it all! Despite having been on here for over two years I still feel like quite the newb sometimes. One of the best things each of us can do is join the communities that speak to us and our passions, so that we have a way to navigate the waters and find the islands we want to spend our time on, where it is worth it to land our creative endeavors.
The really neat thing about many of the communities on Hive is that you can often find a whole archipelago of islands where those interests overlap. One such example for me is the crossover between the vegan and natural medicine groups. I’m happy to share about this connection today, as I hesitated for the longest time joining the @naturalmedicine community. I think with my “Western” idea of “medicine” I didn’t consider my posts or recipes as such, though my choice to adopt a plant-based, vegan diet was fueled (pun intended) by the research that I had done about the health benefits of consuming more whole plant foods.
Veganism as Natural Medicine
Upon really reflecting on it, of course I consider dietary choices a kind of preventative medicine. Many would argue it is THE best medicine. Especially when you consider the absolute epidemic of mostly preventable diseases that currently plague the human race—heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and any number of inflammatory issues that proper diet can reduce or eliminate. Many of the doctors that I follow point to the gut as the root of many of our health problems. Though some of the credible sources might vary on certain specific foods they recommend, pretty much all of the nutrition research I find points to consuming unprocessed, whole plant foods as the bulk of your diet for optimum health and wellness.
That being said, there is a distinction between the dietary focus and the ethical, environmental and spiritual aspects of the vegan lifestyle. You can eat a plant-based diet for personal health reasons, but still wear leather or use beauty products that are tested on animals. Whereas a vegan opts for a total lifestyle that abstains as much as humanly possible from contributing to any type of animal suffering or exploitation. Some vegans are very health-focused and consume mostly whole, unprocessed plant-based foods, while others enjoy some of the more processed items like mock meats, macaroni & cheez, or cookies and cakes. In that case, I would argue there is still a natural medicine benefit at the spiritual level. I am not as well-versed on the spiritual side of things, but I know there are many examples in the religious practice of abstaining from consuming animal products to have a greater connection and respect for all living beings. Buddhism comes to mind, I’ve known Christians doing the Daniel Fast, and more recently I’ve learned more about the Rastafari movement and Ital food. I’m probably missing quite a few, so feel free to share your own personal experiences in the comments if you’d like!
You can also find many examples of veganism in social movements, perhaps as a way to heal injustices in the greater community and not just in our own personal journey. There is a connection between feminism and veganism, which is most prominent when you look at the vast exploitation of dairy cows in large-scale industrial farming. Here in Atlanta I’ve recently come across the connection with the black community adopting a plant-based diet to rise above lingering racial oppression (the civil rights movement was not all that long ago). On the global scale, the destruction of our environment might be in part reduced by more people adopting a vegan lifestyle, especially one that focuses on seasonal, local ingredients. We are not only responsible for taking care of our own health, but also play a role in contributing to the greater good of all people.
From my own personal experience I can without a doubt tell you my health has improved after becoming vegan. My physical health is top notch, as I have mentioned numerous times before. I was just recently called an “easy” patient yet again at my latest preventative care appointment. I also feel like I have a much better mental and spiritual outlook since making the shift in my diet and lifestyle. My biggest mental health boost of the week is generally visiting the farmers market and stocking up on all kinds of stunning, fresh, local, healing produce! On the broader scale, as well, I find the switch has made me much more mindful of other habits that improve my impact on my own health and hopefully my footprint that I leave behind for future generations. The only challenge I have at times is that many of my local friends and family are not vegan, so having this online community is so important for my sense of belonging!
Join The Best Natural Health Community on Hive
What’s the point in sharing this?
The @naturalmedicine team has recently launched their own front end (https://www.naturalmedicine.io/ ) and coin (LOTUS) to promote and reward great content that promotes a holistic and natural approach to life. They want to make sure that the vegan community is aware of the crossover so that we can all utilize the #naturalmedicine tag on the posts that relate to wholesome vegan food, ethical and environmental aspects that help heal our Earth, or many other topics under the vegan sphere. Having content up on the NM front end helps us get more visibility off the blockchain, while also encouraging more people to check out Hive! Of course like many of the other tribes, they will be checking to make sure posts using the tag are appropriate and will only award the Lotus tokens for excellent content so as to keep the value high.
Check out some of the latest @naturalmedicine Announcements for more information about the coin, and also community member @metametheus has been sharing the Natural Medicine Manifesto if you want a better idea of the goals and ideals of the group. It is a diverse group with all different passions and knowledge, but everyone is very welcoming and supportive of anyone on their own journey of attaining health and vitality through holistic, natural methods.
I am very appreciative of the work @riverflows and the whole team have done to roll out this new phase of growth in the community. As a big part of the @vegansofsteemit group and supporter of #fruitsandveggiesmonday, I can also say we are honored to have the support and opportunity to work together to continue to make the world a healthier place! 💚
Yes, without health,
you got nothing
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We love NM and FAVM :)
💚💚💚
Steem is the best vegan/vegetarian community to plug into and full of such great enabling information for sure.
I think I heard about Lotus token and the @Naturalmedicine crew on the ramble in the #pypt pimp your post Thursday weekly show. Talked about the doc wrench between that and Naturalproducts token and movement. Great people.
You are a perfect fit and evangelist for a healthy living and this community. Bravo!
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Thanks Zeke! I am really so happy to have found such a wonderful community to plug into, so I'm happy to spread the word so others can join in, as well! @naturalmedicine is definitely a top notch crew. They are really trying hard to make sure the Lotus coin has value since there's a lot of 💩 out there. ;)
Fabulous article. That's such exciting news about @naturalmedicine having their own token. Love the name too: LOTUS. Will follow your links to find out more ~ But in the morning now. Have the most wonderful week @plantstoplanks. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
Isn't it a great name? I'm happy to help spread the word. Though the other articles do an even better job of describing everything, so I'm sure you'll enjoy those, as well. Hope you have a great week yourself!
I think from whatI have sene the vegan natural and healthy community is more active on Steemit that I have seen anywhere else, and it’s great to see and is helping me to change my diet bit by bit and eat healthier, greta to hear they have added a coin
Steem is a great outlet for being able to share our passions! Nothing makes me happier than knowing what I put out encourages folks to be just a little more mindful of adopting healthier habits. The coin is just another great way to reward the folks that really pour their heart and soul into their posts. Hopefully this is one that will have some good success!
Steem sure is a greta place for that and i hve a feeling this new Coin the Lotus could really takeoff
I agree that the best medicine of all is not needing one :0)
I love your analogy!!! I think the overlapping islands of @naturalmedicine and the vegan community here is just so perfect. I have always loved reading FVM posts and love what you guys do to consistantly create a great community!
Raised vegetarian, I was ALWAYS conscious of food as preventative medicine. Mum was fanatic about it and passed it down to me. I really believe people can make a huge difference to their lives by making such conscious choices in their lives.
This is such a beautiful post, really drawing the connection between food and medicine. So chuffed you rowed that boat (or paddleboarded) between our islands!!
Glad you enjoyed it! For whatever reason the island idea just stuck, so I figured I'd roll (row?) with it. ;)
Bless my mother, but she just didn't know as much about food when we were coming up, so she did the best she could. Now I'm the one teaching her how to have a better awareness. Her and my dad love sharing the vegan recipes they enjoy with me. He's a huge fan of tempeh chili!
Thats awesome they are on board! I know many here who struggle to get their parents to eat well.. ha, they can be like stubborn children!
My Dads all time fave are my Mums lentil burgers. They ARE pretty good. I can never get them to hold together!!
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Oh my gosh, some of my older male clients are the worst. So stuck in their ways, haha! Gotta love 'em, though. I just made some delicious bean loaf this week--totally crumbled up when I tried to cut it, but is still tastes fantastic. There is definitely an art to veggie burgers/loaves!
Well said Katie! I wish everyone would read it! 💚🌎💚
I was hoping I would capture the spirit of veganism well, as I'm always so sensitive to make sure I do the lifestyle justice! People often don't understand a lot about it, so I hope I can continue to share my own experience in a positive way!
I am completely there with you Katie and you are doing great job! Keep it up! Oh and I almost forgot to give you a WONKIE AWARD 💚
Veganism is definitely natural medicine and whatever you share is worth sharing and worthy of this tag. I get your ( previous ) hesitation though. On a ( funny ) side note, I dediced to even tag my current ( mindfulness ) gamemaking posts with natural medicine as I feel that is what I ( and thus my current games ) stand for.
Much love and please keep sharing your amazing blog posts! :>)
I really appreciate your kind support Vincent! I think I'm always such a stickler for rules, and tend to get a bit too literal sometimes. Luckily my mindful training is improving, and I'm expanding my views on just what "medicine" really is. I have seen your game posts pop up, but need to come by to check them out! I enjoy all of the different perspectives on mindful living as I always learn and take something away from each of you!
You're very welcome :>)
Like you, I enjoy all of the different perspectives on mindful living that I find on here.
Have a lovely weekend!
P.S. Always a pleasure to have you visiting my page
Glad to see so many communities coming together in the name of NM! I thought I'd upvoted your post earlier, guess I didn't lol
We debated for a while if we should change the commu ity tag from #naturalmedicine, as some folks may not consider their post to be specifically medicinal. I think a big takeaway from @metametheus's manifesto is that NM is a lifestyle, not always just about snorting dried herbs and chanting while burning smudge sticks. It's about exercise, eating well, hiking, not breathing car exhaust, planting trees, and building community. There's a LOT in this world that's relevant to natural medicine, so y'all come on over and use the tag!
Well said! I love that. Haha - snorting dried herbs!! Snort.
Yeah the 5 Fields....
When we think about Medicine this way, it actually empowers us as individuals because we can discover how much we can do ourselves without being dependant on practitioners or products.
The foundations of Chinese Medicine are based on getting your diet and lifestyle right, and only turning to doctors if the problem isn’t fixed!!!
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I love that idea of being empowered to make our own decisions. Here so many people look at doctors as Gods, and the sad part is most of them know nothing about proper nutrition or how to prescribe exercise and other lifestyle changes. I think Western medicine has a place, but as you said, only after you've exhausted other methods. Or you know, if you've chopped off a finger making healthy food at home...
I think it's all about just continuing to learn and expand our horizons, so I'm glad you all stuck with the tag. The manifesto posts have really been fantastic. I imagine those alone will help people realize a bit more their nostrils are safe. ;)
For the Qigong retreat I went to this weekend, we had to change to an vegan/vegetarian diet for a whole week. I was actually surprised that I didn't miss meat that much, except when someone is eating some in front of me then the view and smell would trigger a slight craving that was easily ignored.
I was meaning to ask that on your post, but then I got caught up in all the great forest shots, haha! I think that dietary preparation is pretty common in that type of retreat, yes? I was actually surprised when I first made the switch how little cravings I had for meat and especially cheese. My vice is sweets, so a yummy piece of cake is a trigger, haha!
This is the first time I’m doing these types of retreat so I’m not sure but I wouldn’t be surprised if that is usually requested.
I’m a fly! I love sugar too... 😅
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Great to see the vegan promotion, much needed. Simple living facilitates higher thinking. Compassion for all life is so obvious to some. The abuse and torture of animals in mass animal farming, transport and slaughter is so degrading to humanity.
Thank you for stopping by @julianhorack! It's wonderful to have the support from @naturalmedicine to share veganism in a positive light. That really is an astute observation about the degradation of not only the animals being exploited in mass farming, but also of humanity. It's really so hard to fathom how people can work in those environments, but I try not to judge too harshly as I know certain institutions just get taken for granted or so many turn a blind eye to what is uncomfortable to see. There is also so much money caught up in it that it has become a behemoth to take down, but every time we make a conscious purchase we speak with our hard-earned wages what we'll stand for and what we won't.
I am not a vegan but always, always, love to read what you wrote. Like an enlightenment to me. Who knows one day I will be a vegan?
Super awesome communities we have here, intertwining, crossing over and working together. When I am more free one day, I shall check all these out, tribes and tokens and more communities. =) wink...
Aww, thank you! I never thought I would either, but you never know sometimes how the years will change you. Even if you don't, I appreciate that you enjoy what I share. The communities are really the best thing about Steem, so I'm happy to have quite a few with such wonderful people to interact with. :)
This post has been included in the latest edition of The Steem News - a compilation of the key news stories on the Steem blockchain.
Thanks so much @pennsif! Happy to be a part of trying to grow and connect people to my favorite Steem communities!
Food is such powerful medicine and it is such a wonderful way in which we can take back control of our health. I stopped eating meat in my teens over 25 years ago. Although becoming vegan came later, I am very happy to see these 2 communities come together xx
Oh, this is the first time I heard of Lotus token, thanks for sharing!
Glad to spread the word! I think many of your posts would fit well with the @naturalmedicine branch of #mindfullife or #mindfulmonday (two tags where they also curate content from).
Really? Never thought of it that way... Thanks for the heads up.
No problem! If you look up some of the latest posts about LOTUS and the @naturalmedicine manifesto, I think you would find some similar threads to what you do and share. :)
Will look out on that! Thanks!
This is so awesome! I love seeing how all of these communities are forming in a more definitive way with new front ends and coins to back them. Plus, extra awesome points for the wicked cool name - LOTUS coin sounds inherently full of natural goodness!
Isn't it a great name? I thought they did a fantastic job choosing. Definitely fits the "brand", if you will. We all are definitely stronger when we support one another, so it is great to keep finding links between all these great groups!
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