# Bonobo's



## Alex (Jul 16, 2011)

Bonobo’s restaurant sits on 18 East 23[SUP]rd[/SUP] Street, at Madison Avenue, across from Madison Square Park and next to a Quiznos restaurant. Its name comes from a virile species of great ape, allocated in the Congo, known for their healthy diet and incessant procreation. Bonobo’s is vegetarian and vegan health food store, serving their food in “the most healthful delicious and nutritious manner… as Mother Earth intended,” according to their website. But do vegetarian and vegan diets contain enough nutritional content to be able to sustain them over long periods of time? Let’s find out. 

A vegetarian nourishes himself with “grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with, or without, the use of dairy products and eggs,” according to the Vegetarian Society’s website. A vegan is someone who “[avoids] using or consuming animal products,” and that includes egg and dairy products according to Vegan.org. Or, according to Wendy Colosimo who works at Bonobo’s, “anything with a face.”
People who approach a vegetarian diet flock to soy products, believing that a deficit of meat requires massive amounts of protein intake, and end up taking too much, according to Colosimo. 

“There is a certain limit,” she said, mentioning that the minerals in foods are most essential, not necessarily the protein. Colosimo has several friends that have maintained vegetarianism and veganism for well over a decade. She said they live a functioning life and feel amazing, “not sluggish, like when you eat a cheeseburger.”

Zen Kitchen Express is another vegetarian restaurant in the east twenties, on 34 Lexington Avenue, between 23[SUP]rd[/SUP] and 24[SUP]th[/SUP] Street. It opened April 9[SUP]th[/SUP], and its manager, who chose to remain under the condition of anonymity, also expressed a favorable attitude towards long term vegetarianism, and even veganism. “I know people who were vegetarians and vegans for 10, 15 years,” he said, adding that they were in great shape too. 

Nevertheless, veganism, the more bare of the two diets in terms of content, can be dangerous if practiced improperly. 
An article on MotleyHealth.com, titled “Raw Vegan Diets Can Be Bad for Your Health,” recalled several severe incidents of malnutrition due to poor implementation of veganism. In one case, a mother fed her two children a raw vegan diet for two years, after which the children’s growth had stunted, their bellies had swollen, and they had small holes in their teeth. Their diet consisted of large amounts of “fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds, grains, soya and pulses.” According to the article, a raw vegan diet is different from a regular one. Someone practicing the raw variant “cannot eat fortified cereals or baked goods, [only] limited grains, and …a few types of pulses.”

Although the same article did mention that a vegan can be done right, “but only if you know what you are doing, and consume the right foods and the correct supplements.”
Leisa Bryant, a nutritionist from Door to Door Dietitians Consulting on East 42[SUP]nd[/SUP] Street in Brooklyn, approves of the veganism, but warns that one would need supplements with iron in addition to the dietary foods consumed. 

In her years as a nutritionist, Bryant had seen “malnourished vegans, and malnourished vegetarians,” and “over nourished vegans, and over nourished vegetarians.” She did say that an omnivorous diet was also good, but “people with higher fat intake are at greater risk of a heart attack.” Although instead of omnivore, she said “carnivore,” throughout the conversation.   

Svetlana Gladoun, a pediatrician for Good Care Pediatrics in Brooklyn, recommends that people “incorporate a slight amount of animal meat” in their diet. As for the vegetarian and vegan diets, she said she would “not choose one over the other.” Lilya Darevkaya, a pediatrician in the same office as Gladoun, also agreed with this opinion. 

Both Bonobo’s Colosimo and Zen’s manager agree that people can live their entire lives on these diets, without detrimental effects. That is, only if people carefully monitor what they eat and are consistent with their diet. 
On a side note, Colosimo spoke to a steady Bonobo customer who told her how he and his wife went to study the bonobo’s in the wild for two years. Apparently, he learned that they solve most of their conflicts with procreation.


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## Brock (Jul 16, 2011)

I watched a documentary on the Bonobo ape a few years ago.  What is also interesting about them is their various forms of procreation and how similar they are to us in this way.  I'm not going to go into detail of course, but they are quite the creative exhibitionists.

Regarding our diet:  Only a few generations ago, we were hunters and gatherers; we lived off the land.  Our fat intake was quite low because the majority of our meet was very lean.  Fifty years ago, there was no food industry.  But now, our food has become something so unnatural that we don't even know what we are eating any more... and neither do our bodies.  To no surprise, we have become an obese, depressed and diseased nation -- basically overnight.  There are many disturbing things that our food industry does not want us to know.  I encourage people to watch the documentary Food Inc. if they haven't already.


Alex, this article was well written and I learned from it.  Keep up the good work.


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## Elenagance (Jul 24, 2011)

I feel that the random quirky facts can be put into good use...somewhere else. 

Something about having "on a side note" after providing a strong piece doesn't rub me quite right. Then again that's just a personal preference. 

It seems like you are trying to find that perfect balance between your writers instincts and your wit and I commend you for that.


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## Olly Buckle (Jul 24, 2011)

> allocated in the Congo


I was not sure if this is deliberate or not, if it is it doesn't really work, for me anyway. May I suggest "Native to", conventional , but succinct and accurate.


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