are vegans healthy

Espressocycle

A healthful vegan diet is possible, but it takes a lot of work to eat the variety of foods you need. Since a lot of vegans are also picky eaters, a lot of them are not very healthy. But then again, neither are a lot of omnivores.

CoderGal

Also, I don't think being vegan makes you unhealthy, I think it's harder to be healthy. For example. it's easy to be oblivious and chuck fast food into you and get all your amino acids...you have to be more aware of things when you're vegan.

I have to strongly disagree with this, at least in today's culture. There are a few pitfalls to watch out for when vegan, like B-12. But in today's society, even junk food vegans are likely to get things like calcium and B-12 supplemented in their milk or meat substitutes.

Junk food non-vegans have pitfalls as well--if not B-12, some other vitamins or problems with excess fat (in the foods).

Healthy vegan and healthy non-vegans are aware of what they put into their bodies and why. It doesn't happen accidentally, for anyone.

I'm not making this into a vegans are healthier; I am making this into a "Both vegans and non-vegans should be equally diligent and educated in order to eat a well-balanced diet."

In fact, in very young adulthood, I've been both a "junk food vegetarian" and a "Junk food vegan." I was healthier as the junk food vegan. As I got older, I got more interested in the health and fitness aspects of my diet, and I'm now a very healthy vegan.

So...I'm not sure what part we're disagreeing on? I'm not saying meat eaters don't get sick? My point was on a ignorant vegan diet people seem to notoriously get ill...and I know many many ignorant meat eaters who have horrible diets if you ask me and it boggles me since they haven't had a health problem their whole life and are into their mid-life crisis stage lol

MemphisKitten

Meat and dairy are unnecessary in the human diet. Vegans are healthier and have WAY more energy than those who eat meat. I'm currently a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and my goal is to become a full vegan by the end of the year. Our digestive systems are not designed to digest meat. Take a look at a lion's digestive system and then a humans. Our stomach has to cover ingested meat with mucus and then work very hard to turn it into a liquid in order to be digested while a lion's system does a lot less work to digest the same animal product. Not to mention all the ammonia that beef and chicken is washed in, along with the ridiculous amount of hormones injected into the animal. Did I mention hemorrhagic e coli? Look that up, it will scare you! Want to know how our animal friends are treated and slaughtered? Watch the documentary "Food Inc." and show your boyfriend the conditions these animals have to live in and then imagine what it's like to be a pig in a group that are SMASHED against a wall to kill them, or a chicken kept in a dark house pumped full of hormones so that it can't even walk, or a cow who is knee deep in feces being pushed around by a fork lift! Eating meat is not only unnecessary, it is cruel.

AimersBee

my brother was a vegetarian all of his life, very intelligent guy, knew what to eat.... but then he got sick, lost a ton of weight, had to go to the hospital... after all the testing they did, the doctor said that he needed to start getting certain proteins that were only in meat such as turkey or chicken.


now... after being a non-meat eater all his life.. he now eats chicken and turkey every so often, been healthy and back to normal ever since....

he was 40 when he got really sick, he is now 43...


just a little tidbit of info... of course this doesn't happen to all vegetarians/vegans... but something to take with a grain of salt...

Did your brother see someone who is knowledgeable about vegetarian diets? If he prefers being 100% vegetarian for ethical or other reasons, it couldn't hurt to talk to a doctor who is well-educated in this particular area. Some, not all, doctors say some really crazy stuff to vegetarians. A dentist told me I'd have bad teeth because of eating nuts and seeds. My dentist today said, "Yeah, no. You're fine."

my brother researched it plenty and talked to a few people well-educated in the vegetarian/vegan diets... my brother is definitely not one to just turn around and say okay fine i'll eat turkey/chicken... he's a very stubborn individual who likes to know all of his info and facts prior to doing anything he doesn't like..

FlaxMilk

I have to strongly disagree with this, at least in today's culture. There are a few pitfalls to watch out for when vegan, like B-12. But in today's society, even junk food vegans are likely to get things like calcium and B-12 supplemented in their milk or meat substitutes.

Junk food non-vegans have pitfalls as well--if not B-12, some other vitamins or problems with excess fat (in the foods).

Healthy vegan and healthy non-vegans are aware of what they put into their bodies and why. It doesn't happen accidentally, for anyone.

I'm not making this into a vegans are healthier; I am making this into a "Both vegans and non-vegans should be equally diligent and educated in order to eat a well-balanced diet."

In fact, in very young adulthood, I've been both a "junk food vegetarian" and a "Junk food vegan." I was healthier as the junk food vegan. As I got older, I got more interested in the health and fitness aspects of my diet, and I'm now a very healthy vegan.

Just disagreeing that careless vegans are notoriously more sick than careless non-vegans. A lot of the diseases that careless non-vegans get sick with more often than vegans are linked to their diets, but because people assume that a omnivorous diet is the norm, don't think to mention, "That meat eater was careless and got diabetes and colon cancer." (Of course vegans can also develop these diseases, and of course these diseases can also come down to pure bad luck and nothing could be done. Like with children who have never smoked but have lung cancer.) But non-vegans can also become malnourished as well. Also, unless someone points to a name, I tend to doubt the veracity of these vegans collapsing left and right and ending up hospitalized.)

FlaxMilk

my brother researched it plenty and talked to a few people well-educated in the vegetarian/vegan diets... my brother is definitely not one to just turn around and say okay fine i'll eat turkey/chicken... he's a very stubborn individual who likes to know all of his info and facts prior to doing anything he doesn't like..

That's interesting, I'd be very curious to see what it was that he wasn't getting that isn't available synthetically.

alanbluecat

my half brother was a vegetarian all of his life, very intelligent guy, knew what to eat.... but then he got sick, lost a ton of weight, had to go to the hospital... after all the testing they did, the doctor said that he needed to start getting certain proteins that were only in meat such as turkey or chicken.


now... after being a non-meat eater all his life.. he now eats chicken and turkey every so often, been healthy and back to normal ever since....

he was 40 when he got really sick, he is now 43...


just a little tidbit of info... of course this doesn't happen to all vegetarians/vegans... but something to take with a grain of salt...

First of all, that's bad advice from the doctor. You can get everything you need from a well-balanced vegan diet.

Secondly, go to any doctor or hospital waiting room and you will find many examples of people with illness caused by or made worse by their poor diet - vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

I've often heard people giving anecdotes about people who were sick and pointing out that they were vegetarian or vegan and implying or stating that that was the cause of their problems. I could give dozens of examples of sick people that I know/knew and tag on the end of it 'and he was a meat-eater like you too, so you better be careful'.

Proper nutrition is vital to everyone no matter where on the meat/non-meat spectrum you are. If you don't ensure you get everything that you need then your health might suffer.

FlaxMilk

Secondly, go to any doctor or hospital waiting room and you will find many examples of people with illness caused by or made worse by their poor diet - vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

I've often heard people giving anecdotes about people who were sick and pointing out that they were vegetarian or vegan and implying or stating that that was the cause of their problems. I could give dozens of examples of sick people that I know/knew and tag on the end of it 'and he was a meat-eater like you too, so you better be careful'.

This!!!!

Newf77

Oh boy I love these topics, grabbing my pitcher of water. Should it be filtered or unfiltered; does it matter if I put an additive in it. My popcorn, to microwave or not.

CoderGal

Meat and dairy are unnecessary in the human diet. Vegans are healthier and have WAY more energy than those who eat meat. I'm currently a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and my goal is to become a full vegan by the end of the year. Our digestive systems are not designed to digest meat. Take a look at a lion's digestive system and then a humans. Our stomach has to cover ingested meat with mucus and then work very hard to turn it into a liquid in order to be digested while a lion's system does a lot less work to digest the same animal product. Not to mention all the ammonia that beef and chicken is washed in, along with the ridiculous amount of hormones injected into the animal. Did I mention hemorrhagic e coli? Look that up, it will scare you! Want to know how our animal friends are treated and slaughtered? Watch the documentary "Food Inc." and show your boyfriend the conditions these animals have to live in and then imagine what it's like to be a pig in a group that are SMASHED against a wall to kill them, or a chicken kept in a dark house pumped full of hormones so that it can't even walk, or a cow who is knee deep in feces being pushed around by a fork lift! Eating meat is not only unnecessary, it is cruel.

The question wasn't asked if it was cruel. I'm also positive that all meat is not treated the way you say. Nor are all of them washed in ammonia or injected in hormones. And if humans weren't designed to eat meat, then snakes weren't either, because they have quite the stress on their body when digesting.

One point I won't argue with you though is meat and dairy is necessary for everyone. Though I'm not arguing against it either...it makes some peoples lifestyles a lot less torturous if they want to live a certain way. If a body builder hated the taste of the processed hemp and bean protein powders etc they'd have quite the time whithering away to nothing while trying to get bigger if they didn't at least have whey. Not to mention the interesting things that could happen if they got into drinking copious amounts of soy all day long. What if they wanted to eat natural? If I can manage 3000 calories some days I can only imagine what the taller bigger men would need to beef up.

AimersBee

First of all, that's bad advice from the doctor. You can get everything you need from a well-balanced vegan diet.

Secondly, go to any doctor or hospital waiting room and you will find many examples of people with illness caused by or made worse by their poor diet - vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

I've often heard people giving anecdotes about people who were sick and pointing out that they were vegetarian or vegan and implying or stating that that was the cause of their problems. I could give dozens of examples of sick people that I know/knew and tag on the end of it 'and he was a meat-eater like you too, so you better be careful'.

Proper nutrition is vital to everyone no matter where on the meat/non-meat spectrum you are. If you don't ensure you get everything that you need then your health might suffer.

he had a well balanced vegetarian diet, he was very particular of getting everything he needed, and he researched plenty and talked to people educated in the field.. prior to being sick..


***once he started eating turkey and chicken.. he slowly started to get better...

alanbluecat

Since a lot of vegans are also picky eaters, a lot of them are not very healthy.

Come on man that's such a generalisation. Show me some figures, otherwise that sentence is worthless.

dittmarml

I always find these threads (and the question/assertion) that starts them amusing.

Look at the rates of obesity, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, osteoporosis, joint disorders (related to too much weight), Type 2 diabetes.

Now - "Do you think it's possible to be healthy eating meat and dairy"?

Well, yes. If you eat them in small amounts and have tons of veggies and fruits and raw foods.

Is it possible to be a healthy vegan?

Well, yes. If you eat a balanced diet, supplement with B12 every now and then.

Is it possible to eat like crap no matter what your diet?

You betcha. Exhibit one - see above (rates).

Next.

FlaxMilk

Since a lot of vegans are also picky eaters, a lot of them are not very healthy.

I'm an extremely picky vegan due to food allergies. My doctors are also extremely pleased with my blood test results, my blood pressure, and other health markers.

alanbluecat

First of all, that's bad advice from the doctor. You can get everything you need from a well-balanced vegan diet.

Secondly, go to any doctor or hospital waiting room and you will find many examples of people with illness caused by or made worse by their poor diet - vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

I've often heard people giving anecdotes about people who were sick and pointing out that they were vegetarian or vegan and implying or stating that that was the cause of their problems. I could give dozens of examples of sick people that I know/knew and tag on the end of it 'and he was a meat-eater like you too, so you better be careful'.

Proper nutrition is vital to everyone no matter where on the meat/non-meat spectrum you are. If you don't ensure you get everything that you need then your health might suffer.

he had a well balanced vegetarian diet, he was very particular of getting everything he needed, and he researched plenty and talked to people educated in the field.. prior to being sick..

Well the fact remains that you can get every nutrient your body requires from a vegan diet. There is nothing in chicken and turkey that we need that you can't get from a vegan source.

Specifically which nutrients did he need to get from the chicken and turkey? If you can find out, I'll find out where to get them in a vegan diet.

FlaxMilk

he had a well balanced vegetarian diet, he was very particular of getting everything he needed, and he researched plenty and talked to people educated in the field.. prior to being sick..


***once he started eating turkey and chicken.. he slowly started to get better...

What I'm curious about is what was it. I saw your sentence that the chicken and turkey helped, but I'm not sold that that was the only way to do it. I'm not trying to discredit your experience, but it has sparked my curiosity.

makemewannadie

A vegan can live a healthy or unhealthy diet the same as an omnivore can... i'm vegan, consider myself to be 'healthy', I love the food I eat and i'm happy.

AimersBee

Specifically which nutrients did he need to get from the chicken and turkey? If you can find out, I'll find out where to get them in a vegan diet.

are you talking about finding that nutrient in a food, or a suppliment?.. it could be because he chose not to take the suppliment that was suggested.. either way i'll see if i can find out..

alanbluecat

Specifically which nutrients did he need to get from the chicken and turkey? If you can find out, I'll find out where to get them in a vegan diet.

are you talking about finding that nutrient in a food, or a suppliment?.. it could be because he chose not to take the suppliment that was suggested.. either way i'll see if i can find out..

From vegan food,

FlaxMilk

are you talking about finding that nutrient in a food, or a suppliment?.. it could be because he chose not to take the suppliment that was suggested.. either way i'll see if i can find out..

I haven't heard of anything that can't be found in a food (even B-12 is fortified in even "accidentally vegan" foods.) But I'd be curious to see either way.