Any recent convert to plant based diet?

amsuraj

So I watched this "documentary" called "The Game Changer", with James Wilks, which is really making me think about switching to animal based diet. Anyone on something similar?

In the movie, James Wilks travels the world on a quest for the truth about meat, protein, and strength. Showcasing elite athletes, special ops soldiers, and visionary scientists to change the way people eat and live.

ElizabethKalmbach

... Even deer are not fully vegan/vegetarian. They eat bird eggs and even baby birds without batting an eye.

My chipmunks will make off with chicken nuggets if I don't keep their calcium level up - usually they get it by eating eggs (shell and all) deer antler and bone. My paraplegic chipmunk loves hunting down and eating junebugs.

It is possible to be an elite athlete and vegan, but they are the exception, rather than the rule. What is possible for them is not practical for me.

I do eat more like my chipmunks since I got them. They need lots of fresh produce, but won't finish off an entire package of romaine hearts before they go bad, so I make more salads and give them some of what I'm eating.

They also love mealworms, raw egg, and live bugs for the protein and calcium, and while I've politely tried Chirps (chips made with cricket flour), I prefer chicken.

*I will also note that while oxen are strong, they are also ruminants. I, on the other hand, do not have 4 stomachs and my gut flora is all wrong for digesting large quantities of cellulose.

kshama2001

This post from one of the several recent threads on "The Game Changers" sums up my feelings on plant-based:

MikePTY wrote: »

I did not feel the need to watch the movie to comment on it. I just read this article instead: https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a29067926/the-game-changers-movie-fact-check/. Everything can have an agenda, even that article, but it seemed to be a pretty good rebuttal of the documentary's main points.

Look when it comes to plant based lifestyles, I think there are two points that are largely valid and science based:
1. People should eat more fruits and vegetables and would be healthier if they did.
2. Reducing meat consumption is a positive thing from an environmental and sustainability perspective.

But both those things can still be true without needing to make meat out to be evil or try to spin limited studies into making grandiose statements, which this documentary seems to do. It's not even the best way to accomplish the agenda of trying to promote plant based eating.

There are always going to be a limited number of people who do full plant based/veg. There are a larger number of people who are looking to incorporate more plant based eating and moderate their meat consumption. I am one of those. I think the part of the plant based movement that takes an all or nothing approach rather than incrementalism is shooting itself in the foot.

kshama2001

https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a29067926/the-game-changers-movie-fact-check/

...Around the half-hour mark, The Game Changers makes this claim: “Even iceberg lettuce has more antioxidants than salmon or eggs.”

It’s a statement that is so face-smackingly stupid, and it typifies the dangers of either/or eating.

By over-valuing one nutrient (antioxidants in iceberg lettuce), you devalue the host of beneficial nutrients in the other (heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids in salmon, brain-aiding choline in eggs—just to name two).

“Ultimately, it's not that getting people to eat plants is a bad thing. It's generally a great thing. But you don't have to do so by erroneously telling people that meat is killing them, and they need to go to an all-plant diet. That is a false dichotomy,” says St. Pierre.

“Instead, teach them the benefits of adding more wholesome plant foods to their meat intake. And then teach them to eat higher-quality meat options. Maybe even to consider swapping some meat for a plant-based protein (such as tempeh, tofu, or seitan). There's a progression, and a happy middle ground for most.”

kimny72

@kshama2001 I saw over the weekend a few RD groups and research outlets post a link to that Men's Health article! Seems like that's going to be the official rebuttal And that quote you closed with is golden.

kshama2001

kimny72 wrote: »

@kshama2001 I saw over the weekend a few RD groups and research outlets post a link to that Men's Health article! Seems like that's going to be the official rebuttal And that quote you closed with is golden.

@MikePTY gets the credit for the Men's Health link

I'd been using this one somewhat ironically due to the clear bias: https://www.beefmagazine.com/beef/why-schwarzenegger-s-game-changers-documentary-dangerous

amsuraj

Thanks for the feedback y'all. I had watched the documentry again and wrote the names of all the doctors and their main points, so that I could do a double click on them to figure out what their bias were. Lettuce comment definetly raised my eyeborws, but so did the gladiator comment. Sill on the fence about switching, but maybe better way would be to take smaller steps, 2-3 days without meat every week or something like that. Thanks again people.