question for the vegans
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I should probably say the health reasons I am looking to change my diet so drasticly I recently found out that I have high blood pressure and cholesterol. My mom is in her 40s and already has had several heart attacks ( and she is a runner and in great shape!). I have a pretty sever allergy to milk so I never drank it or ate much of it in the first place. I was sick for years before they finally realized that what was the cause. I want to see what I can do to help lower my risks.0
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As for the animals being killed during harvesting argument, a lot of land and food is harvested to feed animals that are bred for consumption, so it doesn't really work, and also the amount of rainforest and animal habitat that is destroyed to make way for cattle and other animals that are bred for consumption. It's the weakest argument ever.Far more land is used to produce grain for livestock in feed lots than goes directly to human consumption. Enough so that the world hunger problem could be all but eliminated if the grain used to feed livestock went to feeding humans. (not letting the animals starve, but not having feed lots in the first place and not feeding grass eaters corn they were not meant to eat...)
Personally I try to only buy organic produce, so no pesticides were used to kill any bugs if I can help it. I also shop a lot at the local farmers markets when I can so the food is from small hand harvested farms. Plus no animal is INTENTIONALLY slaughtered for my food. It is pretty darn near impossible to be 100% cruelty free given the way our food is produced, unless you grow your own which for many is impossible. But then I am also not claiming to be superior to anyone because I made the choices I did...and most other people I have met who eat vegan are the same. I wish more people would adopt the same lifestyle, but preaching and being sanctimonious about it is not going to help. I know some vegans like that too and they give the rest of us a bad name, and you get the comments like some early in this thread.
If someone is considering changing to eating veggie I am more than happy to discuss it and give advice, I will also answer questions honestly and even bluntly when people ask but everyone needs to make the choices that are right for themselves and that they can live with. I have made mine and I am happy with my choices.
Eh... if we focussed on ethical treatment and harvest of our meat, a lot of this would be eliminated, because we would, by force, be able to raise less footed protein - and meat consumption by humans would be limited. Not eating meat doesn't eliminate the grain-raining issue because there are major subsidies that go into growing foods that are not acceptable for human consumption. And honestly, just about every one could raise some of their own food, because much can be raised on something as small as a patio or wall-shelf.
The problem is the giant feed lots and feeding animals that would naturally graze on grass an unnatural diet of grains, mostly corn. The desire for meat (and I am speaking largely of the USA of which I am most familiar) has grown so from 60 yrs ago or so that where livestock is raised hardly resembles a farm anymore, its a factory. So yes if there was a marked decrease in meat consumption and feed lots were eliminated there would be a huge difference. But I hardly see that happening
The whole food system here is so messed up it is not even funny. Its a shame that fresh produce is so much more expensive than junk food filled with HFCS. its all upside down IMHO
I would LOVE to have my own garden but we lack the space to do so. If I filled the window boxes..the kids would have it wiped out in a matter of a meal or 2...we go through so much stuff...well what the deer and other wild life around here would not get first We tried strawberries once but between the deer and kids they were gone very fast!0 -
I should probably say the health reasons I am looking to change my diet so drasticly I recently found out that I have high blood pressure and cholesterol. My mom is in her 40s and already has had several heart attacks ( and she is a runner and in great shape!). I have a pretty sever allergy to milk so I never drank it or ate much of it in the first place. I was sick for years before they finally realized that what was the cause. I want to see what I can do to help lower my risks.
If you haven't seen it yet, watch "Forks over Knives" it is all about healing common health problems through the plant based diet. there is TONS of information at the related websites as well. I am following Dr Macdougall's plan personally.
(This sort of thing is why you get people saying "vegan" is the wrong term BTW...to be vegan is also to eliminate animal products from everywhere in your life that it is possible to do so. The term "plant based diet" is more accurate, or I tell people I eat a vegan diet because it is easier for them to understand what I mean, but I can't yet call myself 100% vegan. Getting there, but not yet. but instead of just mocking with a "lol" someone who says they are going the vegan route for health reasons..perhaps people could do a bit of research? just a suggestion fwiw...
) 0 -
I should probably say the health reasons I am looking to change my diet so drasticly I recently found out that I have high blood pressure and cholesterol. My mom is in her 40s and already has had several heart attacks ( and she is a runner and in great shape!). I have a pretty sever allergy to milk so I never drank it or ate much of it in the first place. I was sick for years before they finally realized that what was the cause. I want to see what I can do to help lower my risks.
If you haven't seen it yet, watch "Forks over Knives" it is all about healing common health problems through the plant based diet. there is TONS of information at the related websites as well. I am following Dr Macdougall's plan personally.
(This sort of thing is why you get people saying "vegan" is the wrong term BTW...to be vegan is also to eliminate animal products from everywhere in your life that it is possible to do so. The term "plant based diet" is more accurate, or I tell people I eat a vegan diet because it is easier for them to understand what I mean, but I can't yet call myself 100% vegan. Getting there, but not yet. but instead of just mocking with a "lol" someone who says they are going the vegan route for health reasons..perhaps people could do a bit of research? just a suggestion fwiw... )
See I didn't know that! Thanks for telling me yes I loved that documentry it and Fat Sick and Nearly Dead really what started me doing the research that got me on this path. I appreciate the information
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I should probably say the health reasons I am looking to change my diet so drasticly I recently found out that I have high blood pressure and cholesterol. My mom is in her 40s and already has had several heart attacks ( and she is a runner and in great shape!). I have a pretty sever allergy to milk so I never drank it or ate much of it in the first place. I was sick for years before they finally realized that what was the cause. I want to see what I can do to help lower my risks.
If you haven't seen it yet, watch "Forks over Knives" it is all about healing common health problems through the plant based diet. there is TONS of information at the related websites as well. I am following Dr Macdougall's plan personally.
(This sort of thing is why you get people saying "vegan" is the wrong term BTW...to be vegan is also to eliminate animal products from everywhere in your life that it is possible to do so. The term "plant based diet" is more accurate, or I tell people I eat a vegan diet because it is easier for them to understand what I mean, but I can't yet call myself 100% vegan. Getting there, but not yet. but instead of just mocking with a "lol" someone who says they are going the vegan route for health reasons..perhaps people could do a bit of research? just a suggestion fwiw... )
See I didn't know that! Thanks for telling me yes I loved that documentry it and Fat Sick and Nearly Dead really what started me doing the research that got me on this path. I appreciate the information
Also the Engine 2 diet...any of the ppl in FoK ..they all have books and facebook pages with plenty of free info0 -
I should probably say the health reasons I am looking to change my diet so drasticly I recently found out that I have high blood pressure and cholesterol. My mom is in her 40s and already has had several heart attacks ( and she is a runner and in great shape!). I have a pretty sever allergy to milk so I never drank it or ate much of it in the first place. I was sick for years before they finally realized that what was the cause. I want to see what I can do to help lower my risks.
If you haven't seen it yet, watch "Forks over Knives" it is all about healing common health problems through the plant based diet. there is TONS of information at the related websites as well. I am following Dr Macdougall's plan personally.
(This sort of thing is why you get people saying "vegan" is the wrong term BTW...to be vegan is also to eliminate animal products from everywhere in your life that it is possible to do so. The term "plant based diet" is more accurate, or I tell people I eat a vegan diet because it is easier for them to understand what I mean, but I can't yet call myself 100% vegan. Getting there, but not yet. but instead of just mocking with a "lol" someone who says they are going the vegan route for health reasons..perhaps people could do a bit of research? just a suggestion fwiw... )
See I didn't know that! Thanks for telling me yes I loved that documentry it and Fat Sick and Nearly Dead really what started me doing the research that got me on this path. I appreciate the information
Also the Engine 2 diet...any of the ppl in FoK ..they all have books and facebook pages with plenty of free info
Oh sweet! goes to google it 0 -
I've been a strict vegetarian for 12 years so I'll try to help...How hard was it for you to go 100% animal product free?
It was hard the first 6 months because I didn't know how to make anything vegetarian so I ended up eating the same stuff everyday like salads and french fries. What helped was finding a good vegetarian cookbook with SIMPLE fast recipes I could make in a few minutes.
Another hard thing is going out to eat initially because most of the menu doesn't apply to you anymore. However most restaurants will make any entree minus the meat for you (and you have the benefit of knowing it is freshly prepared since it had to be made custom).
These days being vegetarian is effortless because I don't even remember what its like to not eat like this.How hard was it for you to go 100% animal product free? What helped you stick with it? I am not doing this for moral reasons but health reasons and I would like to know what I am up against
After your vegetarian for a while the sight and smell of meat is pretty revolting, its not hard to avoid it after that point. Also with all the news stories coming out about how many diseases and conditions are linked to eating meat and how nasty some of the processing of that meat is, well...the more you know the less you want it.
These days I'm eating an almost raw diet. The time I save alone from not having to prepare or cook anything plus the benefit of my food always being healthy and fresh is awesome...or should I saw rawsome
People will go blah blah blah about missing vitamins and nutrients...take a multivitamin once a day and you will be fine.
btw, I have not been sick once in 10 yrs (not even a cold). I try to avoid anything processed. If it comes from a can or a box I avoid it. Good luck 0 -
I've been a strict vegetarian for 12 years so I'll try to help...How hard was it for you to go 100% animal product free?
It was hard the first 6 months because I didn't know how to make anything vegetarian so I ended up eating the same stuff everyday like salads and french fries. What helped was finding a good vegetarian cookbook with SIMPLE fast recipes I could make in a few minutes.
Another hard thing is going out to eat initially because most of the menu doesn't apply to you anymore. However most restaurants will make any entree minus the meat for you (and you have the benefit of knowing it is freshly prepared since it had to be made custom).
These days being vegetarian is effortless because I don't even remember what its like to not eat like this.How hard was it for you to go 100% animal product free? What helped you stick with it? I am not doing this for moral reasons but health reasons and I would like to know what I am up against
After your vegetarian for a while the sight and smell of meat is pretty revolting, its not hard to avoid it after that point. Also with all the news stories coming out about how many diseases and conditions are linked to eating meat and how nasty some of the processing of that meat is, well...the more you know the less you want it.
These days I'm eating an almost raw diet. The time I save alone from not having to prepare or cook anything plus the benefit of my food always being healthy and fresh is awesome...or should I saw rawsome
People will go blah blah blah about missing vitamins and nutrients...take a multivitamin once a day and you will be fine.
btw, I have not been sick once in 10 yrs (not even a cold). I try to avoid anything processed. If it comes from a can or a box I avoid it. Good luck
Wonderful reply! I am already pretty grossed out by meat to be honest. I hate the smell the most of raw beef! Yuck!0 -
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When I was still living at home it wasn't hard because I cooked my own food, so it was easy to just eat a lot of fruits, veggies, beans, grains, and tofu. It's really hard to do at school because almost everything contains dairy or eggs in the dining hall, so I'm back to being a vegetarian. 0
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It was pretty easy for me, but I am vegan for ethical reasons, not health. (I don't know if it's related, but my BP, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc are all in the optimal ranges). If you can find an ethical reason to stick with it, that may help your resolve. I'm not sure how I'd do if my motivation was health. (Meat is no problem to resist, but there are a lot of vegetarian foods that look amazing but aren't vegan.)0
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I wouldn't reccommend doing it for health reasons because you can eat a lot of vegan crap and still be unhealthy.0
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I began eating a plant based diet a year ago. This year has been fascinating, amazing, and enlightening.
6 months before choosing to become plant based, we first switched to eating a pescetarian diet. Over a few months, we slowly cut down on fish.
I use Happyhebivore.com for a lot of recipes along with ohsheglows.com, and fatfreevegan.com I also treat myself to Vegan cookbooks to give myself a booster of ideas (just got Fresh from the Vegan Slowcooker - awesome!).
Healthwise, we all feel healthier, and none of us would go back. My sister who has MS is also eating Plant based, and loving it. Her MS symptoms are gone. Myself, weight wise, I have still struggled. Recently I have begun to strongly suspect I have a gluten intolerance, so I have cut bread and pasta out of my diet and now I am seeing a difference.
The hardest part is the judgemental carnivores who lurk everywhere. The 2nd hardest thing is having people come over, eat your food, rave about it, then tell you how they could never give up cheese or bacon, and THEN tell you they're prediabetic, have HBP, heart disease, or another disease that can be helped by diet... That I still have a hard time wrapping my head around.
Cheese is hard to give up, mainly because it has addictive properties. I loved cheese too, but HH cheese sauce made from nutritional yeast and seasonings make it a LOT easier!0 -
I watched forks over knives as well and was looking at a pure plant base diet but in doing research found that there are health issues with long term veganism, vitamin b12 plus some people seem to have teeth problems.
This is worth a read especially the comment sections, in fact its a good blog to read as a whole comments included but it will leave you more confused over stuff than before http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/09/22/forks-over-knives-is-the-science-legit-a-review-and-critique/
Which then led me reading up on raw food diets/wheat free/dairy free paleo etc etc and they all just contradict each other and have made me more confused than ever. Some say eat grains others say dont some say eat legumes others say dont they unhealthy and a lot of them without any real long term analysis of effect of eating in such a way for decades. All with people saying they never felt so great aft cutting out the stuff other people also feel great eating.
After all this confusion going to go my own way and eat healthy balanced mainly plant based diet with some fish, organic locally sourced meat and a mixture of raw and cooked. Cutting out the processed salt and sugar filled crap that is likely to be the real culprit behind your health issues and with a bit exercise in a way that you can live with seems more sensible way to go rather than following the latest fad ways of living imho.0 -
I'm almost a full vegan (dairy-free and working on not buying products with eggs). I do it both for moral and health reasons. I'm lactose intolerant and dairy also affects my asthma, so I feel way better when I don't eat it. A lot of what I write will probably already have been said, but:
Make sure you have a lot of variety in your diet, it makes switching a lot easier if you can look forward to eating different things.
Stock up on beans, oats, things that are hearty and whole foods. You can cook a bunch at once and have them ready for the week. When you have food ready to go or to throw into a dish, it makes it easier to keep cooking for yourself and not give in to the unhealthy choices.
There are a lot of things that are veg that aren't healthy. Oreos are vegan. Does that mean I eat them because I can? No. They're also super processed.
Look for things with whole ingredients and not a lot of extra, unnecessary things. Decide if you could maybe make that yourself and have it be healthier with fewer ingredients.
Eat lots of veggies. Take a few supplements if you have to. I take B12, C, and D regularly (although the C is more just to help with health). B12 is also found in flax seed and can be easily added to a lot of things (salads, smoothies, etc.)
Most importantly, eat what feels right for you. People have different digestive systems and react differently to things. I can't eat almonds ( ) or walnuts because I'm highly allergic to them. I use rice milk on my cereal, which I've learned to really enjoy. But that's what works for me. If you can drink almond milk, do it, because it's delicious when it doesn't give you hives! You will probably have to experiment with what you body feels best with. But, that is part of the journey of being a healthy you. Hope that helped! 0 -
I've eaten mostly meat free for years, but my husband decided to join me earlier this year after watching Food, Inc. For me the transition was easy, but I haven't like meat so that shouldn't be a surprise. My husband on the other hand, had a hard time at first. He ate a lot of meat substitutes, preferring them over whole food meals I make. But these days we only occasionally use them.
We have gone back and forth on dairy. I'm allergic to soy, so my cheese options are limited (although I'll be looking for the almond cheese mentioned in earlier comments). I like almond and rice milks, but haven't made a full switch.
I'd say what has helped us stick with it (beyond the gross-out factor) is both using vegan/vegetarian cook books and finding restaurants we can go to for treats. Our favorites are Mediterranean and Indian.0 -
How hard was it for you to go 100% animal product free? What helped you stick with it? I am not doing this for moral reasons but health reasons and I would like to know what I am up against
What helped me stick with it was transitioning gradually. Going vegan for breakfast for 1 week, then adding lunch the next week, then adding dinner the following week, and then adding snacks. I didn't beat myself up for slip-ups, and made lots of satisfying vegan meals for myself that used Gardein products to help the transition. I also take a multi-vitamin and keep track of my important nutrients so I always feel satisfied.
I recommend googling "umami, " or the 6th taste, the feeling we get from food that leaves us feeling satisfied. A lack of umami in the diet has led many to abandon a vegan diet. You can add it in naturally with fermented sauces like soy, teriyaki or various vinegars; nutritional yeast; barbecue sauce; and using meat substitutes. The Vegan RD has an excellent article on the topic.
Good luck! I've been vegan for 6 months and have lost 30 pounds, have clearer skin, and feel great.0 -
This is so true! You've just described most of my family. I've been vegetarian for over 20 years and I still can't figure out why my being vegetarian is so threatening to some carnivores. Why would anyone still eat things that are known to be harmful? Yet it's their body, their choice. I can only do for me what I think is best.The hardest part is the judgemental carnivores who lurk everywhere. The 2nd hardest thing is having people come over, eat your food, rave about it, then tell you how they could never give up cheese or bacon, and THEN tell you they're prediabetic, have HBP, heart disease, or another disease that can be helped by diet... That I still have a hard time wrapping my head around.0 -
find a great cookbook/blog that you LOVE.
my sister has this awesome cookbook with a recipe for cheese sauce that doesn't have cheese in it.
so many helpful tips in that bible of a book.
they wrote vegan cupcakes take over the world
and http://www.amazon.com/Veganomicon-The-Ultimate-Vegan-Cookbook/dp/156924264X/ref=pd_sim_b_4
also, santa brought me a cookbook called power foods.
the focus is on veggies with entres being chicken and fish mostly.
really simple, few ingredients. very few or no dairy ingredients.
http://www.amazon.com/Power-Foods-Delicious-Healthiest-Ingredients/dp/0307465322/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357208300&sr=1-1&keywords=powerfoods+cookbook0 -
I was an omnivore 7 months ago.. I transitioned straight from a meat-eater to a strict raw vegan. I even quit coffee, alcohol, soda & all forms of sugar. I don't drink soy milk, only almond milk & I consume only fermented soy such as miso, tempeh & natto. I found it extremely easy to transition to this diet, maybe because I am a chef by trade & I have a passion for cooking. My father surviving throat cancer made me realize I need to focus on my health more & learned about how a strict vegan diet consisting of 80% alkaline foods & over 60% raw, uncooked fruits & veggies can arrest & sometimes reverse many of the common heart problems & auto-immune diseases most commonly found in the Western diet. You can easily lose a pound a day on a vegan diet as long as you limit your sugar intake, avoid all refined foods such as white all-purpose flour, white sugar, white rice, white pasta & white bread. If you love sugar, get raw brown sugar cane, and buy organic stone ground flours such as buckwheat & sorghum flours, brown basmati rice or brown jasmine rice is great for you and stick to whole grain bread. Avoid whole grain foods as much as you can if you want to lose weight. If you do consume grains, just avoid bread & stick to gluten-free grains such as sorghum, buckwheat, amaranth, organic corn & brown rice.
~ Unrefined Veganism is the Future!0
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