Dangers of Vegetarian & Vegan Diets Long-Term

veganbaum

I don't want to draw fire from vegans and vegetarians but I've never met a really healthy looking one! I always assumed that they just weren't balancing their meals right. But maybe it's because strictly vegetarian eating goes against that fact that we are meat-eating animals.
If you are healthy and a vegatarian more power to you. BUT isn't it a good idea to keep an open mind particularly when it comes to your health? Also I'm not against vegetarian meals..I find them delicious and eat them a lot.

Good grief, that old argument?!

Sarauk2sf

I don't want to draw fire from vegans and vegetarians but I've never met a really healthy looking one! I always assumed that they just weren't balancing their meals right. But maybe it's because strictly vegetarian eating goes against that fact that we are meat-eating animals.
If you are healthy and a vegatarian more power to you. BUT isn't it a good idea to keep an open mind particularly when it comes to your health? Also I'm not against vegetarian meals..I find them delicious and eat them a lot.

I am not sure where you live, but there are PLENTY of healthy vegetarians in the world. We are not 'made to be meat eaters' - that is a total fallacy by meat eaters trying to justify their diet. In fact, if someone has been a vegetarian for some time, eating meat will actually make them ill because they no longer produce an enzyme that we need to process meat. If that enzyme stops being produced if you stop eating meat, how can you say we are 'made to eat meat'. It would be more accurate to say we can adapt to eat meat.

Obviously there are unhealthy vegetarians just as there are unhealthy meat eaters. It should also be noted, that there are a variety of reasons why people do not eat meat - not just for health reasons.

Sarauk2sf

I don't want to draw fire from vegans and vegetarians but I've never met a really healthy looking one! I always assumed that they just weren't balancing their meals right. But maybe it's because strictly vegetarian eating goes against that fact that we are meat-eating animals.
If you are healthy and a vegatarian more power to you. BUT isn't it a good idea to keep an open mind particularly when it comes to your health? Also I'm not against vegetarian meals..I find them delicious and eat them a lot.

Brendan Brazier, triathlete, vegan.


Chad Ochocinco, NFL athlete, vegetarian.






This tofu is delicious.

This exactly!!! And WWE World Champion Daniel Bryan, and MMA fighter Jake Shields, who I believe has recently taken up a full vegan diet!

LOVE IT!!

sweet_lotus

I think the biggest long term effect is everyone thinks you're an ahole

You win the thread!

mamagooskie

This will be entertaining to read.....until it gets locked of course. I'll check back regularily to see how it all goes down......all while eating my completely VEGAN foods.

Never felt better in my life.......vegan lifestyle is the way for me.



**I am not swiss or an eskimo so I don't plan on eating like one**

daffodilsoup

I have an idea... Maybe we should all mind our own business and eat what we think is healthiest? Meat eaters will not convince an avid vegan/vegetarian to eat meat (especially online), and vegetarians will have trouble doing the same.

For a lot of vegans/vegetarians, it goes beyond being a matter of food or health, but it's a matter of morals and ethics. For some people, to sit idly by and choose not to speak out against needless killing is simply unethical.

albinogorilla

4 seperate animals died to feed me today, and another 4 will die tomorrow, and again the next day........sometimes many many more............

mamagooskie

Plants kill you. Meat kills you. Oxygen kills you. May as well go kill yourself.

LOL.......zombies kill too!!

daffodilsoup

4 seperate animals died to feed me today, and another 4 will die tomorrow, and again the next day........sometimes many many more............

And the fact that you are proud of that makes my heart hurt a little.

albinogorilla

4 seperate animals died to feed me today, and another 4 will die tomorrow, and again the next day........sometimes many many more............

And the fact that you are proud of that makes my heart hurt a little.

animals are delicious.................

leeann0517

I don't want to draw fire from vegans and vegetarians but I've never met a really healthy looking one! I always assumed that they just weren't balancing their meals right. But maybe it's because strictly vegetarian eating goes against that fact that we are meat-eating animals.
If you are healthy and a vegatarian more power to you. BUT isn't it a good idea to keep an open mind particularly when it comes to your health? Also I'm not against vegetarian meals..I find them delicious and eat them a lot.

My daughter is a vegetarian and has been for 4 years now. She was a vegan but found it too hard to maintain while living on campus at college and while on vacation. She is fabulously healthy. Thin, toned, thick long hair, beautiful skin and nails, works out several times a week, and in 1.75 years away at college, has never had a sick day. Maybe you need to expand your circle of people you interact with.

kbeckley11

In fact, if someone has been a vegetarian for some time, eating meat will actually make them ill because they no longer produce an enzyme that we need to process meat. If that enzyme stops being produced if you stop eating meat, how can you say we are 'made to eat meat'. It would be more accurate to say we can adapt to eat meat.

Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that we adapt to NOT eating meat.

Also, question for the vegetarians. Are you vegetarian for health reasons or because of moral ones? If you lived on a farm and knew your cows and such are being treated right and fed right and all that jazz, could you eat those animals?

daffodilsoup

4 seperate animals died to feed me today, and another 4 will die tomorrow, and again the next day........sometimes many many more............

And the fact that you are proud of that makes my heart hurt a little.

animals are delicious.................

Sweet justification, bro.

albinogorilla

4 seperate animals died to feed me today, and another 4 will die tomorrow, and again the next day........sometimes many many more............

Separate*

If you're gonna be a douche, you might as well spell correctly

whose the douche...............the spelling nazi, thats who

idonteatmyfriends

In fact, if someone has been a vegetarian for some time, eating meat will actually make them ill because they no longer produce an enzyme that we need to process meat. If that enzyme stops being produced if you stop eating meat, how can you say we are 'made to eat meat'. It would be more accurate to say we can adapt to eat meat.

Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that we adapt to NOT eating meat.

Also, question for the vegetarians. Are you vegetarian for health reasons or because of moral ones? If you lived on a farm and knew your cows and such are being treated right and fed right and all that jazz, could you eat those animals?

I was originally vegetarian for ethical reasons, and ethical reasons are why I became vegan. Personally, I would never go back to eating meat because I don't think I could enjoy it. When it is possible for me, I hope to re-home rescued battery hens to live in a large field (if I get rich and can afford a nice house with a field haha) and then I think I would feel okay eating their eggs

hellokittyhorror

Two women I admire on each side of the issue:

Ellen DeGeneres on being vegan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeSA2j4oiDA


Jillian Michaels on not being vegan:
http://castroller.com/Podcasts/TheJillianMichaels/2433794

NanniesKitchen

GO VEGAN!

thelovelyLIZ

Can people stop trying to convince people that eating meat or not eating meat is bad? Just let people make their own dietary choices.

veganbaum

In fact, if someone has been a vegetarian for some time, eating meat will actually make them ill because they no longer produce an enzyme that we need to process meat. If that enzyme stops being produced if you stop eating meat, how can you say we are 'made to eat meat'. It would be more accurate to say we can adapt to eat meat.

Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that we adapt to NOT eating meat.

Also, question for the vegetarians. Are you vegetarian for health reasons or because of moral ones? If you lived on a farm and knew your cows and such are being treated right and fed right and all that jazz, could you eat those animals?

Nope, not me. Those who eat veg*n or any variation thereof may have very different reasons for their decision, so one cannot speak for all. What is acceptable to one is not to another, just like within any other group of people.

daffodilsoup

Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that we adapt to NOT eating meat.

Also, question for the vegetarians. Are you vegetarian for health reasons or because of moral ones? If you lived on a farm and knew your cows and such are being treated right and fed right and all that jazz, could you eat those animals?

Absolutely moral. Animals were not put here for us, and we have no right over their bodies, their offspring, or their secretions.

I don't believe in exploiting animals, no matter how "nicely" they are treated. Anything that ends in slaughter or exploitation is not "nice."

spareparts79

mmmm . . . BACON!!

shanahan_09

I have an idea... Maybe we should all mind our own business and eat what we think is healthiest? Meat eaters will not convince an avid vegan/vegetarian to eat meat (especially online), and vegetarians will have trouble doing the same.

This is the most intelligent reply on here! This topic has burnt itself out...getting up there with politics and religion...jeez.

daffodilsoup

I have an idea... Maybe we should all mind our own business and eat what we think is healthiest? Meat eaters will not convince an avid vegan/vegetarian to eat meat (especially online), and vegetarians will have trouble doing the same.

This is the most intelligent reply on here! This topic has burnt itself out...getting up there with politics and religion...jeez.

Then kindly navigate away.

jenilla1

The poster who said she's never seen a healthy looking vegetarian made me laugh. I rarely meet a healthy looking meat-eater (or really any kind of eater) nowadays. Most people are eating too much processed crap and dealing with the consequences - fat, sluggish and sick. The whole-foods vegetarians I know have the most beautiful skin! I myself am a whole-grain eating, vegetable-loving omnivore who rarely eats red meat, and really only eats animal proteins a few times a week - and that is what works for me. A healthy diet is what's required for good health. There are many healthy foods, both meat and non-meat. People who eat a diet well-balanced in nutrients and low in saturated fats, funky chemicals, and processed sugars should be fine. Mind your own diets, people!

cakeums

Vit D - synthesized in the body from sunlight.

Vit A - synthesized in the body from carotenoids, found in fruits and vegetables.

The only known long term risk from eating vegetarian and vegan are deficiencies in B12 and iron, both easily supplemented. There are, however, many benefits.

You do know they studied the Swiss and Eskimos right? Not alot of sunlight depending on the time of year.

Even so, the statement "...more vitamin A and vitamin D than the American diet of his day! These vitamins are found only in animal fats..." is wildly incorrect. A single sweet potato has almost 100% the DV recommended amount of Vitamin A.

...Honestly, did you even read this before you posted it?

I saw the point where they had more vitimans then the typical american. Semantics battle........Begin!

I think you're confusing what they "could have" done with what they actually do and what they study found. Defensive much?

I think the point here is if the author is completely wrong on a major point he is making - that vits A and D only come from animal fat, which is incredibly untrue - then how credible is the "article" as a whole.

Furthermore, why do you give a **** if someone eats veg/vegan?

cakeums

The poster who said she's never seen a healthy looking vegetarian made me laugh. I rarely meet a healthy looking meat-eater (or really any kind of eater) nowadays. Most people are eating too much processed crap and dealing with the consequences - fat, sluggish and sick. The whole-foods vegetarians I know have the most beautiful skin! I myself am a whole-grain eating, vegetable-loving omnivore who rarely eats red meat, and really only eats animal proteins a few times a week - and that is what works for me. A healthy diet is what's required for good health. There are many healthy foods, both meat and non-meat. People who eat a diet well-balanced in nutrients and low in saturated fats, funky chemicals, and processed sugars should be fine. Mind your own diets, people!

:drinker:

ironanimal

Don't mind me. Just here to spectate.

daffodilsoup

Why don't we all just walk around in grizzly or lion country and see what happens. Prey or be preyed upon.

Because, unlike the grizzly or lion, the human is capable of reasoning, compassion and empathy. Hunting is all the grizzly or lion knows, whereas the human is capable of stopping, and thinking, and changing.

People love to talk about how much higher humans are than other animals with our brains and speech and all that nonsense, but somehow when it comes down to food it's suddenly cool to compare ourselves to animal instincts.

janessafantasma

Plant based protein is so much better for your body and easier for your body to digest. It's basic biology, and you can't argue that

albinogorilla

All of the animals i eat are vegatarians, so i am very sympathetic to the cause..........