Vegan vs Health

laurabini

I really would like to start eating vegan. It may be a stupid situation, but my family thinks it's unhealthy because they say we need certain amino acids that can be found only in meat and blablabla...
Is vegan really that bad? To me it seems very healthy
How can I change their minds?
Thanks

SueGremlin

You can't change their minds. And there is no reason to. You need to do what you feel is best for you, there is absolutely no reason to involve anyone else. Veganism takes some work to do correctly but you certainly can get compete nutrition without eating animal products. Don't worry about what other people think.

Fay84Vegan

I am the only on of my family that is a Vegan. I have been Vegan for 2 years before that a Vegatarian since i was 6 (28 now)

At the time of changing from Veggie to Vegan my sister was starting her training of being a dietitian so i had many lecture about reduced calcium etc... blah blah...

Like you maybe you know that it's because they care about you but it's sometimes nice to have support instead of lectures!

I have learnt A LOT since becoming a Vegan. I think the best thing for you is to do some research!! Then you have evidence to back up any questions your friends of family will have.

Personally i love being a Vegan not just because animals are must better off that way but i DO feel so much healthier!

Eating plenty of fruit and Veg is important of course but when becoming Vegan you have to make sure that you are replacing Calcium rich foods with good substitutes.

eg;
Fortified Breakfast cereals and milk substitutes.
You are looking for added calcium and vitamin B12 and Vitamin D.

I get mine from soya milk and soya yogurt

I also take a multivitamin everyday just to cover me incase i have not had enough (just to be on the safe side)

Aside from those listed you can get everything else needed from a Varied Vegan diet.
Have a look at http://ohsheglows.com/ It is a WONDERFUL Vegan website with LOADS of recipes sweet, savory and very yummy. Stuff you wouldn't have even thought of!

I'm here if you need any Vegan diet support of ideas :happy:

Fay

rml_16

I really would like to start eating vegan. It may be a stupid situation, but my family thinks it's unhealthy because they say we need certain amino acids that can be found only in meat and blablabla...
Is vegan really that bad? To me it seems very healthy
How can I change their minds?
Thanks

If you do your research and are careful about getting the proper nutrition, it can be healthy. If you don't do that, then you could hurt yourself. It isn't an easy diet.

laurabini

Thank you so much for your answer, I really appreciate that
I absolutely don't want to change my family's diet, they can eat what they want, but I really would like to feel free to eat what I want. And I don't want them to force me, even if they think meat is good for me.
I think I'll start gradually, replacing meat step by step (I've already cut off dairy because of my lactose intolerance)

PercivalHackworth

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/537298-can-a-vegetarian-build-lean-mass-and-burn-fat

jenniebean1680

You can't change their minds. And there is no reason to. You need to do what you feel is best for you, there is absolutely no reason to involve anyone else. Veganism takes some work to do correctly but you certainly can get compete nutrition without eating animal products. Don't worry about what other people think.

^^THIS. You just have to be diligent.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/537298-can-a-vegetarian-build-lean-mass-and-burn-fat

There is a huge difference between someone that is vegetarian and one that is vegan. Vegans are not going to be eating the eggs and cheese.

deadstarsunburn

Naaaaah you're fine.
I've been vegetarian my entire life and aside from (obviously) being over weight my body is SUPER healthy.
I've been vegan for a smidge over a year now and it's gotten me to be even more healthy.

I would STRONGLY suggest you slowly go vegan. I've had friends who got very ill from switching like that. So maybe do pescitarian, vegetarian, vegan. And that really only applies if you eat a lot of meat and are still learning as to what types of foods you need to be eating in that lifestyle.

Good luck =]

laurabini

Thank you for all your support!

And yes I'm thinking about change my diet step by step, as I currently eat a lot of fish!
I'll start eating only fish and then cut all the other animal products

Toddrific

Definitely do your research as far as to what you need to supplement.

I know B12 is a must, unless you eat dirty vegetables you aren't going to get it in a normal diet.
Lots of vegetarian/vegan products are fortified with it though.

mixedfeelings

You won't change their minds.

I became a vegetarian when I was 18 (12 years ago) and although I'm not vegan I get the similar "talks", my parents are heavy meat eaters, and by that I mean they eat too much meat portion wise and the amount of processed meat they eat. My mum has bowel problems and so does my dad along with high blood pressure. If I say may be cut down on meat, get better meat, eat more fish it's because I'm vegetarian that I'm saying that. Yet just yesterday my dad was going on about how he remembers when I used to eat meat I really don't get the point of why he said that at all and to be honest I prefer it if we stay out of each others diets.

I really think you need to tell your family that even though it's nice that they care they would be best butting out for the time being and you are thinking about what you are putting in to your body - a lot of people don't, many people go through life not thinking about this but are fine.

There is a vegan supplement called veg 1, take a look here;

http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/nutrition/multivitamins-and-minerals-lists.aspx


I personally just take vitamin c with zinc, and engevita every so often. So much food these days that is manufactured for veggies and vegans contains the nutrients we need. I do think it's a lot easier these days.

jonesyuno34

I concur with most the people here. Don't try to convince anyone. If you do it, and do it right, you can be healthy, and that will make an argument louder than words.

My wife and I have been on a whole-food, plant-based diet for over 7 months now, and we feel better than ever. You can do it!

laurabini

Thank you for all the information, you are being so kind and helpful
I already take multivitamins and I'll do further researchs

Maybe I didn't express this in the right way: I don't want to convince them to start eating vegan, they really can eat what they want. I just would like some support from them, for example let me cook my meals and buy vegan products

triinityz

I was a Vegan for a few years (still a vegetarian) and I have to tell you I never felt better in my entire life. I lost an amazing amount of weight, had tons of energy and for the first time in my life, I had absolutely NO food "issues". I've also considered going back because I know the benefits of it make the hard work worth it.

Most people don't realize how much protien, calcium and vitimins are in vegetables... eat to live is a really good book that got me to become a veg and it educated me on why we shouldn't eat animal products.

Good luck, don't let anyone tell you what is best for you!

alexandria412

All of this advice is really good, especially the bit about phasing out animal products gradually.

I'm a vegeatarian and about to start reading "The 30-Day Vegan Challenge" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, which I've seen frequently suggested on the boards here.

laurabini

Just another advice: how long should this gradual meat-to-veg change take? Can I do it in 1-2 months?

mixedfeelings

Just another advice: how long should this gradual meat-to-veg change take? Can I do it in 1-2 months?

It's all down to you, it takes while in a way, I didn't pay attention and thought you were already a vegetarian. I'd aim for that first, it takes experience, in a way, to get used to things and learn how many things you can't eat any more. A lot of things have gelatine in. I would start by going veggie, for me it was 2 weeks, the first week I still ate fish, in fact I thought I was just going to be a pescatarian but I felt awful and stopped the fish in the second week. It then took time, I started paying attention to things, looking up what hidden ingredients to avoid. In fact these days I don't bother looking at the ingredients I just look to see if it has a "Suitable for vegetarians" sign, I know some things are veggie but don't bother with this but it makes for a very long shopping trip if I went through everything.

I would concentrate on going vegetarian first, and then vegan in the future.

laurabini

Thank you I guess everyone's different and I'll have to see how long it will take for me

FlaxMilk

Hey there! I personally went vegetarian overnight at 11 and vegan again overnight when I was older. Gradual works for some people, but when you are ready to dive in, dive in.

There are vegetarian foods that have complete proteins, like quinoa. I am trying to do a lot of strength building so I am supplementing with protein shakes but only find it necessary for that reason. (My calories are supposed to be around 1200, so it's hard to do both on "normal" food.)

A little rant--people talk about the risks of a vegan diet and how carefully it must be researched etc etc etc, but how many healthy people result from the standard American diet? How many people research (and listen) their McDonalds and Burger King? (I'm not talking about people on MFP and others who do indeed research their diets and eat meat. I'm talking about those who wing it, which is a lot of people.)

BLy82

I really would like to start eating vegan. It may be a stupid situation, but my family thinks it's unhealthy because they say we need certain amino acids that can be found only in meat and blablabla...
Is vegan really that bad? To me it seems very healthy
How can I change their minds?
Thanks

Your family is completely wrong. The only nutrients that you will naturally tend to come up short in eating a good vegan diet are B-12 and Vitamin D. B-12 is made by bacteria and used to be found more on vegetables and in water, but since we now chlorinate and wash everything much more carefully you'll need to supplement that. Vitamin D even most people who do eat animal products are deficient in during the months of the year when there isn't adequate sunlight to make it naturally.

You do need to be somewhat careful switching to a vegan diet, but that's not so much because it has health problems. Look at it this way... I've never really had the traditional diet of a person who lives in India. There are many people in India who are quite healthy, but if I tried to switch to eating nothing but Indian food overnight, there's a good chance I'd only come up with 2 or 3 meal options that I like initially, and then start eating virtually the same thing every day because I don't know what else I can eat. The lack of variety in my diet would lead to deficiencies and feeling like crap. The problem wouldn't be the type of diet, it would be the fact that I didn't know enough about it to make it work properly.

Also, people who become vegan sometimes just eat the same unhealthy diet they had before, but they substitute fake meats for the meat they used to eat. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with enjoying a Morningstar burger or something from time to time, but if that's the only change you make in your diet you're not really getting healthy.

For what it's worth, research backs the idea that greatly reducing or eliminating the quantity of animal products in your diet is healthier for you. This is not just a matter of 'humans aren't meant to eat meat'. Rather, humans aren't meant to eat the type of meat you can now find in the grocery store. There's a big difference between the health implications of eating say... a bison that was roaming the unpolluted prairie 200 years ago, and eating a cow that's been fed on corn (a very very unhealthy diet for cows), living on a dirty polluted feedlot with industrial pollutants everywhere, and not allowed to move around much at all because moving 'wastes' energy that his body could be using to bulk up.

(Produce available today is also typically less nutritious than what you used to be able to get easily., sadly. The difference isn't huge, but it's there.)

You may enjoy this resource: http://pcrm.org/kickstarthome/ It's a 21-day Vegan kickstart that's supposed to help you transition your diet in a healthy way more easily since they take over a lot of the initial figuring out what to do for you.

Vegans typically choose not to eat things like honey, gelatin, and white sugar (often processed with bone char). I would try not to worry too much about that kind of thing initially. While they are animal products, you'll get a lot more benefit for your effort out of focusing on getting rid of the big sources of animal products in your diet first.

I'm not vegan myself, by the way. I'm just well aware that there's no actual nutritional need for meat, and it really sort of takes up space in the diet that cold be occupied by more nutritious things for those who are so inclined.

Kimbie500

All of this advice is really good, especially the bit about phasing out animal products gradually.

I'm a vegeatarian and about to start reading "The 30-Day Vegan Challenge" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, which I've seen frequently suggested on the boards here.

I second the recommendation for this book. It accessibly debunks many of the "But vegan is bad because..." stuff you're going to hear and provides a 30 day path with a few recipes to get you started. My favorite vegan cookbook is "Appetite for Reduction." It includes a wide variety of tasty plant based meals. This blog also has a load of tasty recipes: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/. You may also want to check out The Healthy Librarian's blog: www.happyhealthylonglife.com/. She is a medical librarian who reads and summarizes medical research articles on her blog. She transitioned to a vegan lifestyle about 2 years ago for health reasons. Scanning her blog for that period of time will help provide you with more "scienc-y" answers to the scare tactics you are likely to experience.

Best of luck to you!

(If anyone checks out my food diary, you will notice that I am not completely vegan - I have the occasional pat of butter on my popcorn and don't turn down special occasion non-vegan baked goods. Don't be a hater. :flowerforyou: )

darkling_glory

All of this advice is really good, especially the bit about phasing out animal products gradually.

I'm a vegeatarian and about to start reading "The 30-Day Vegan Challenge" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, which I've seen frequently suggested on the boards here.

Yes, this is a great book. It will be very helpful in answering all of your questions about nutrition.

Your family is completely wrong. The only nutrients that you will naturally tend to come up short in eating a good vegan diet are B-12 and Vitamin D. B-12 is made by bacteria and used to be found more on vegetables and in water, but since we now chlorinate and wash everything much more carefully you'll need to supplement that. Vitamin D even most people who do eat animal products are deficient in during the months of the year when there isn't adequate sunlight to make it naturally.

You do need to be somewhat careful switching to a vegan diet, but that's not so much because it has health problems. Look at it this way... I've never really had the traditional diet of a person who lives in India. There are many people in India who are quite healthy, but if I tried to switch to eating nothing but Indian food overnight, there's a good chance I'd only come up with 2 or 3 meal options that I like initially, and then start eating virtually the same thing every day because I don't know what else I can eat. The lack of variety in my diet would lead to deficiencies and feeling like crap. The problem wouldn't be the type of diet, it would be the fact that I didn't know enough about it to make it work properly.

Also, people who become vegan sometimes just eat the same unhealthy diet they had before, but they substitute fake meats for the meat they used to eat. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with enjoying a Morningstar burger or something from time to time, but if that's the only change you make in your diet you're not really getting healthy.

For what it's worth, research backs the idea that greatly reducing or eliminating the quantity of animal products in your diet is healthier for you. This is not just a matter of 'humans aren't meant to eat meat'. Rather, humans aren't meant to eat the type of meat you can now find in the grocery store. There's a big difference between the health implications of eating say... a bison that was roaming the unpolluted prairie 200 years ago, and eating a cow that's been fed on corn (a very very unhealthy diet for cows), living on a dirty polluted feedlot with industrial pollutants everywhere, and not allowed to move around much at all because moving 'wastes' energy that his body could be using to bulk up.

(Produce available today is also typically less nutritious than what you used to be able to get easily., sadly. The difference isn't huge, but it's there.)

You may enjoy this resource: http://pcrm.org/kickstarthome/ It's a 21-day Vegan kickstart that's supposed to help you transition your diet in a healthy way more easily since they take over a lot of the initial figuring out what to do for you.

Vegans typically choose not to eat things like honey, gelatin, and white sugar (often processed with bone char). I would try not to worry too much about that kind of thing initially. While they are animal products, you'll get a lot more benefit for your effort out of focusing on getting rid of the big sources of animal products in your diet first.

I'm not vegan myself, by the way. I'm just well aware that there's no actual nutritional need for meat, and it really sort of takes up space in the diet that cold be occupied by more nutritious things for those who are so inclined.

All of this! +1

_VoV

Educate yourself. Here's my favorite book on the topic of vegan nutrition: "Vegan for Life: Everything you Need to Know to be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet" by Jack Norris and Virginia Messina (both vegan RD's).

Follow their excellent advice and start showing your family how it's done. Learn enough so that when they question you about things like complementing amino acids (a debunked old myth), protein, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D, DHA and omega 3's, etc, you will be able to give them detailed and complete answers. Be prepared for eye-glazing. Eventually they will give up asking.

Also, the longer you do a vegan diet and show them it can be done, the less they will bother you about it.

laurabini

Thank you so much you all are helping me so much I'll read all the links carefully as soon as I have time (I'm in a hurry now)
You really motivate me

kdlfit

I've been vegan for a year now. Branden Brazier's Thrive book helped me a lot. Also the documentary Forks Over Knives. Dr. Colin Campbell's China Study is an eye opener as well.

cheshirequeen

been vegan for 7 years, 3 year old is too. we are both great.

Lyra89

All the amino acids can be found in non-animal foods I'm veggie but eat vegan when I can! x I never feel better than when I don't eat meat/fish/cheese/dairy/eggs etc but until I live alone I won't be able to be fully vegan x

DOElston

I think becoming vegan is a choice we all can make and, with some research, it seems it can be done healthfully. For myself, I doubt I'll ever pursue that. Over and over again, life proves out that form follows function. Our back teeth (molars) are designed for chewing plants and grains but our front teeth (incisors and canines) have been designed to grip and cut meat. Whether one believes that God or evolution designed our bodies, we were evidently designed to be omnivorous.

Kenzietea2

There is absolutely no reason you cannot get proper nutrition from a Vegan diet so long as you know what your body needs and do some research. Good luck to you!

pdworkman

Amino acids:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/apr/protein.htm