are vegans healthy

You can be a healthy or unhealthy meat eater. Healthy or unhealthy vegetarian....and the same applies to being a vegan. Why wouldn't it?

Exactly! I see no reason to pick out one particular group ...

I think animal protein is very important, however I don't think we need dairy to survive and frankly milk freaks me out. I don't think we were ever meant to drink an animals milk. In my opinion vegans are not healthy and I've heard it can cause complications in pregnant women for the unborn child because your body is lacking nutrients it needs. Just like with most animals, I don't believe people were meant to eat a diet of only soy and veggies.

Once you have learned the basics, it takes very little effort. I shop and eat as naturally as a meat eater. I love my vegan diet, and it's not an effort. I know what I'm supposed to eat. Learning to tie my shoes was a concerted effort. Now I just tie my shoes.

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There are vegans that don't eat soy at all. Vegans eat far more than "veggies and soy."

It depends on how you eat. You can be a junk food vegan loading up on processed sugar or you could be a raw foodist, etc

All bias aside, as I've said before, I encourage everyone to go Vegan. It means that the law of supply and demand will make the meat I eat cheaper, and if the meat industry were to go under, I could always just kill animals myself.

Yes...I am now envisioning a utopia...one where everyone besides me subsists on soy products and the men's testosterone levels drop abysmally, allowing me to claim alpha male status. Eh...I can hope that everyone is gullible enough anyway. Everyone has to have a dream.

:laugh:

ETA: I do think vegans can be healthy and fit if they take the time to educate themselves on proper nutrition. My sister-in-law has and she's a very healthy and active vegan.
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I will repeat what others have said. It can be very healthy if you educate yourself and eat the right foods. I would counter all of his arguements with reputable sites online. Like if he thinks you need milk to get calcium look up vegan foods that have just as much calcium

I think animal protein is very important, however I don't think we need dairy to survive and frankly milk freaks me out. I don't think we were ever meant to drink an animals milk. In my opinion vegans are not healthy and I've heard it can cause complications in pregnant women for the unborn child because your body is lacking nutrients it needs. Just like with most animals, I don't believe people were meant to eat a diet of only soy and veggies.

Sorry, you're wrong on the animal protein. It's not required and actually it's unhealthy to eat dead rotting flesh. Humans don't require it in our diet and our bodies are not built to process it effectively.

So, in your 'opinion vegans are not healthy' - back this up please otherwise it's just one of those untruths that people pick up and repeat with no basis in fact and it is also a gross generalisation.

I'm all ears ...

ETA: I do think vegans can be healthy and fit if they take the time to educate themselves on proper nutrition. My sister-in-law has and she's a very healthy and active vegan.

I will repeat what others have said. It can be very healthy if you educate yourself and eat the right foods. I would counter all of his arguements with reputable sites online. Like if he thinks you need milk to get calcium look up vegan foods that have just as much calcium

I also think non-vegans can be (somewhat) healthy, if they educate themselves and eat the right foods.

So, you're saying, in short, that because I am a meat eater I am not healthly?

I didn't gain my eight because I ate too much weight...

It was all the sugar snacks and cakes that go me. Just's a question Alanbucat.

However, I think and beleive that a well balance diet is the best way to go.

Sorry, I've no idea what this means.
The only bit I can decipher is about being healthy as a meat eater.
Human bodies are not designed to process meat therefore it follows that if you eat meat you are doing something to your body which is not healthy. If you don't eat too much of it and you have an otherwise well-balanced diet and take regular exercise you can probably get away with it and appear to be healthy however I wouldn't recommend consuming any meat because you are leaving yourself wide open to developing a multitude of illnesses and diseases. As far as I know nobody develops life threatening diseases by eating too many vegetables and fruit. That can't be said for eating meat so it is obvious that humans should not be eating meat. I know I'm out-numbered in the world, but you're all doing it wrong!

So, you're saying, in short, that because I am a meat eater I am not healthly?

I didn't gain my eight because I ate too much weight...

It was all the sugar snacks and cakes that go me. Just's a question Alanbucat.

However, I think and beleive that a well balance diet is the best way to go.

Sorry, I've no idea what this means.
The only bit I can decipher is about being healthy as a meat eater.
Human bodies are not designed to process meat therefore it follows that if you eat meat you are doing something to your body which is not healthy. If you don't eat too much of it and you have an otherwise well-balanced diet and take regular exercise you can probably get away with it and appear to be healthy however I wouldn't recommend consuming any meat because you are leaving yourself wide open to developing a multitude of illnesses and diseases. As far as I know nobody develops life threatening diseases by eating too many vegetables and fruit. That can't be said for eating meat so it is obvious that humans should not be eating meat. I know I'm out-numbered in the world, but you're all doing it wrong!

I disagree with you. I am not one to be a full vegetain.

I eat my healthy deit. So far, I am healthy.

Again, in my point of view and my opinion, it depends on the person and what they need. Unless you can DISH OUT all of the proof of what you are saying by documented studies than, maybe, just maybe, I will beleive you.

First, I want that proff.

I could say you are doing everything wrong too. Yet, you can't nor can I prove to you that only eating veggies will fix my weight.

Because, frankly, I didn't get over weight just by eatting meat.

No.. it was all the cakes, cookies, candie bars, and other sweats that did me in.

Oh and all the dam cokes.

It's time for my bed here in the UK so I don't have the time or the inclination to give you individual studies just because you demanded it. I assume you can use google just as well as me. I've made it a bit easier for you -
Here are some studies on a vegan diet - http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=studies+into+vegan+diet&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&as_vis=1

and here are some studies on meat eating diets - http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=studies+into+meat+eating+diet&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5

If the links don't work just go to scholar.google.co.uk or .com and type in the search bar.

Have a read of a few of the studies you find here - all the proof you require is in there.

It makes no difference to me if you or anyone else doesn't believe me, or disagrees with me. I came here to answer the vague question 'are vegans healthy?' and give my perspective on why eating a vegan diet can be healthy if a person chooses to be.

I've never claimed to be able to fix your weight. Frankly, that's up to you to take control of your diet. No doubt eating all the cakes, cookies and candy that you claimed to eat will have contributed to a weight problem. I never said you got fat by only eating meat.

When you say 'nor can I prove to you that only eating veggies will fix my weight', actually I don't recommend you eat only veggies - that would not be a well-balanced diet, you need more than veggies. You could choose to follow a low fat raw vegan diet like I do which is much more balanced. I eat mainly fruit with some vegetables to get the balance I need. You would lose weight if you followed a diet like that but really that is up to you. I'm not here to try to convert anyone only to debunk the myths that vegans are unhealthy and that eating rotting animal flesh is healthy.

I can only speak from personal experience. My blood sugar went from borderline diabetic to normal within 6 months of becoming vegan. Even though I've gained a little weight since starting my new job being vegan makes it nearly impossible for me to get overweight even when I don't exercise at all and eat however much vegan junk food I want. Being a healthy vegan has my good cholesterol up and bad cholesterol at rock bottom. (Not sure how it was when I was eating more junk food and not working out for a while.) Also my blood pressure is slightly lower than what's considered normal even when I'm nervous at the doctor's office. It's also helped to keep my Ulcerative Colitis in check and I almost never have a flare up as a healthy vegan. Begin vegan has also cleared up my acne- cystic acne and blackheads everywhere to maybe one or two zits a month.

My nutritionist told me most american's are at risk of getting too much protein rather than not enough. Also that in all the years he's been practicing he's never heard of anyone, vegans included, being hospitalized from lack of protein. We run the numbers every year and all my nutrient levels are spot on without much effort.

Is being vegan healthy? It's been a miracle cure for me. Maybe the question you should ask is how's your lifestyle been working for you?

That's fantastic and a superb testament to eating vegan if ever I heard one! Congratulations on your health triumphs!

I have had similar health benefits too.
Cholesterol has gone from being too high and requiring medication to being totally normal with no medication required.
Blood pressure has gone from being very high and requiring lots of different medication to being at the lower end of the normal range with no medication required.
Liver function has gone from abnormal to normal.
All other blood results have come in completely normal.
I have had ME/CFS for 4 years which has devastated my life, left me unable to work and with very little energy for just about any activities. Exercise has been impossible due to the pain and exhaustion. Since transitioning from vegetarian to vegan through the course of this year and now to 100% raw vegan, I can work again, don't collapse into bed with exhaustion every afternoon like I used to, can get up easily in the mornings, can take long walks regularly, I go to the gym 3 times per week, work out at home, run, feel great inside ... the list goes on.

My life has been totally transformed by my vegan diet.
Can vegans be healthy?
This is why I've been so passionate about answering that on this thread. Without my vegan diet all I had to look forward to was many more years of bad health and misery. Going vegan has given me my life back!

I think animal protein is very important, however I don't think we need dairy to survive and frankly milk freaks me out. I don't think we were ever meant to drink an animals milk. In my opinion vegans are not healthy and I've heard it can cause complications in pregnant women for the unborn child because your body is lacking nutrients it needs. Just like with most animals, I don't believe people were meant to eat a diet of only soy and veggies.

With all due respect, "I've heard" shouldn't be the basis to discount something. It's fine for that to jumpstart your research on a topic, but alone, it shouldn't have much weight unless you've heard it from your doctor - and even then, second opinions are important

Also, it's important to know that a vegan diet doesn't only consist of "soy and veggies" just as a low carb diet doesn't only consist of bacon and cheddar cheese. Vegans can enjoy a wide variety of highly nutritious foods.

Are there vegans who lack in nutrients because they don't pay attention to what they're putting in their bodies? Absolutely. But of course, this isn't an exclusively vegan issue - anyone, regardless of their lifestyle, can be lacking in nutrition. Those who put effort in and plan their eating to meet their nutrient needs can lead perfectly healthy lifestyles, compassionate or otherwise.

I think animal protein is very important, however I don't think we need dairy to survive and frankly milk freaks me out. I don't think we were ever meant to drink an animals milk. In my opinion vegans are not healthy and I've heard it can cause complications in pregnant women for the unborn child because your body is lacking nutrients it needs. Just like with most animals, I don't believe people were meant to eat a diet of only soy and veggies.

Sorry, you're wrong on the animal protein. It's not required and actually it's unhealthy to eat dead rotting flesh. Humans don't require it in our diet and our bodies are not built to process it effectively.

So, in your 'opinion vegans are not healthy' - back this up please otherwise it's just one of those untruths that people pick up and repeat with no basis in fact and it is also a gross generalisation.

I'm all ears ...

actually i'm not wrong. i still think animal protein is important and you are not actually a good poster child for me wanting to change my high animal protein diet.

OK, so tell me more about WHY you're not wrong. Which proteins do I need that I can only get from an animal source?

I couldn't give a stuff about you changing your diet. Like I've stated before on here I'm not here to try to convert anyone, I'm here to refute any claims that vegans can't be healthy.

I'm also not trying to be a 'poster child' for anything. Who said I was?

attacking my beliefs, and saying "you are wrong" when i simply said "I THINK" meaning, this is what I believe and you can believe whatever you choose. in my opinion I appear healthier than you, eat all the processed vegan crap you want. i could care less. i'lll stick to my lean meat, veggies and natural fat.

Yes, Vegans can be healthy. They can also be unhealthy. I have been Vegetarian my whole life, and been both healthy and unhealthy. I am getting back to being Vegan, when I was, I was healthier than any other time in my life.

Do what works for you, but do your RESEARCH first and don't base an (uninformed) opinion on what you read on forums such as this. Do real research and listen to your body.

These things being said, personally I find dead, rotting animal carcass a poor excuse for "food" as well as various animal bodily fluids disgusting as well. I admit to a strong addiction to cheese, which I fight daily, but that doesn't mean I don't find it foul, it makes my body ill.

This argument is ridiculous because what I defend, and can refute after over 20yrs of studying and researching nutrition will never sway the brainwashed masses of "you-can't-get-enough-protein" sayers.