Going vegan and maintaining protein intake.

Reality time:

If you don't WANT to go vegan, you won't stick to it - no matter how much anyone tells you you "need" it. If you truly WANT to try veganism, go for it. If you don't, then don't. Very simple.

Honestly, add coconut oil, chia seeds, and any other medium chain fatty acid containing foods to your diet and watch your cholesterol drop.

Coconut oil increases cholesterol HDL and increases the amount of cholesterol that is contained in the LDL lipoproteins when it's used to replace carbs or other unsaturated fats. So basically cho levels go up.

study please.

No. Look for yourself simply because most of your advice is from the hip and your really don't know a lot about this subject at all based on previous posts, and your the ones that saying that coconut oil will drop cholesterol levels so why not post a few studies that show that.

it raises HDL which is the good stuff. and i'm sorry, but if i need studies when i make assertions I believe to be true, then so does everyone else. otherwise I'll just refuse from now on - which would make me immensely happy.

I guess it was when your post started with "reality time" that's when I felt compelled once again to correct some misinformation. Maybe research a subject from all angles before making belief statements, Which will also reduce confusion and my post count.

huh. clearly reading comprehension isn't a strong suit. to me, "reality time" was referring to the first thought, while the second was a completely different idea. but apologies if that was unclear to you sweetums.

Reality time:

If you don't WANT to go vegan, you won't stick to it - no matter how much anyone tells you you "need" it. If you truly WANT to try veganism, go for it. If you don't, then don't. Very simple.

Honestly, add coconut oil, chia seeds, and any other medium chain fatty acid containing foods to your diet and watch your cholesterol drop.

Coconut oil increases cholesterol HDL and increases the amount of cholesterol that is contained in the LDL lipoproteins when it's used to replace carbs or other unsaturated fats. So basically cho levels go up.

study please.

No. Look for yourself simply because most of your advice is from the hip and your really don't know a lot about this subject at all based on previous posts, and your the ones that saying that coconut oil will drop cholesterol levels so why not post a few studies that show that.

it raises HDL which is the good stuff. and i'm sorry, but if i need studies when i make assertions I believe to be true, then so does everyone else. otherwise I'll just refuse from now on - which would make me immensely happy.

I guess it was when your post started with "reality time" that's when I felt compelled once again to correct some misinformation. Maybe research a subject from all angles before making belief statements, Which will also reduce confusion and my post count.

huh. clearly reading comprehension isn't a strong suit. to me, "reality time" was referring to the first thought, while the second was a completely different idea. but apologies if that was unclear to you sweetums.

Well of course you meant that, my mistake, again.

You can add me as a friend if you like. I have been a great vegetarian, horrible vegetarian, great vegan, and now I'm somewhere in between. I am trying to cut the animal products out again, but with the loosing weight/workout schedule, I am keeping things like eggs and processed meat products in the house until I have a schedule nailed down. In my mind, its better to not be a complete vegan than binge on pasta.

For your question, I would try and incorporate protein for every meal. I add beans to salads, have bean based dinners, and tofu scrambles for breakfast. Quinoa and lentils have complete amino acid profiles but it shouldn't matter as long as you are eating a variety of food. Nuts and seeds are a very important part of the vegan diet, so always try and get 1-2oz a day. If you don't add them to food, mix up a green smoothie and add some ground flaxseed or chia seeds for your omegas.

Right now I really like the simply green smoothies website and the Eat to Live book. I don't think you need to go too extreme, just find 5 good meals that work for you and balance protein/carbs/fat for every meal. I am slowly doing the same and working on cooking one new thing a week to see if I can add it to my base of foods.

Since going vegan I have found that I need to eat a lot bigger portions. It's not necessarily hard to find the right foods, but making sure you eat enough of them. Someone recommended that I start blending beans into shakes, breakfast oats, curries etc. I cook a big batch of plain beans at the beginning of the week and then put a cup into a couple of meals per day. I also use natural hemp protein - Good Shake. If you're still struggling, the PPK forum is a good place to get recipe ideas and advice on a vegan diet.

Here's a couple of articles I found just from Googling now - there is heaps of info out there if you look


http://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/the-worlds-best-vegetarian-protein-sources
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4771/10-Vegan-Sources-of-Protein.html
http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegetarian-protein/
http://chopd.co.uk/sources-of-non-meat-protein/

Your physician told you to go vegan?

I believe the current medical consensus is that for a minority of people dietary cholesterol can raise the level of cholesterol in the blood. Saying "Go Vegan" is basically saying that as a first step he should eliminate all dietary cholesterol to see if he is one of those people. If not, then the other options are still out there. It is a big lifestyle change to ask of someone, but if a patient says they have been very disciplined about their diet and exercise and there are some results to back that up it seems like that is the kind of person who might be able to stick pretty closely to a vegan diet for a while. Nothing to lose in throwing it out as a suggestion. Somebody who comes in at 350 pounds and gaining and hasn't walked a mile in years? Err, different case and different advice.

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/cholesterol-food

Have you seen the documentary "Forks over knives"? It has a lot of really interesting information from a 30 year study called "The China Study" and is basically the study results in an interesting form. The study was undertaken independently by two doctors who then put their findings together. They weren't funded by any commercial interests like Dr. Oz who sells and promotes products through his show and the corporate sponsors.

The "China Study" is debunked cherry-picked BS. It's not an actual study, despite the name. It's a mass-market book, not peer-reviewed science.

OP: Sorry to see you've been caught in a good old fashioned vegan vs. paleo flame war. Worst place to be.

I lost 80 pounds while eating vegan for a year. During that time, my cholesterol went down 40 points and the drop occurred almost entirely in the LDL portion of that number. My blood pressure has decreased from 135/85 ON medication to 125/75 OFF medication. I have since gained back a bit of weight because I landed an awesome job that unfortunately is all-consuming and requires me to be much more sedentary than I'd like to be, and I've also slipped a bit in terms of the specifics of what I eat (processed foods have crept back in, as they so often do). However, I'm learning to integrate exercise effectively with my new schedule and I'm tightening my diet back up, so the weight I've gained back is starting to drop off again. No worries.

Anyway, here is my advice: avoid processed food at all costs. Eat whole, fresh, and locally sourced food and eat a lot of it! Forgot the fake meat and focus on beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, edamame, leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, all kinds of vegetables, fruit, quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, etc. Choose organic whenever possible. If you're going to eat soy products, stick to tempeh and tofu. Especially tempeh, as it's less processed than tofu, contains more protein and fiber, and is more easily digestible due to the fermentation process. I suggest cutting the standard tempeh brick into thin "filets", steaming them for ten minutes, and then caramelizing them in a skillet with a tiny bit of hazelnut oil and a light glaze (little bit of agave works great). The bottom line is that if you're going to go vegan, eat a lot of whole plant food and eat a variety to make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need.

As a previous poster so cleverly suggested, you will notice an increase in gas on this eating plan -- mostly for the first couple weeks. However, once everything settles down, you will become so fantastically regular that you'll never look back. Seriously, it's like having your own personal poop fairy. Mine shows up every morning at 7:30 and politely guides me to the bathroom, where I enjoy a stress free bowel movement and then I'm totally done with pooping for the day. People ask me if I miss eating buffalo chicken and I'm like, "About as much as I miss having fiery, explosive poomergencies at inopportune times."

I'm no longer strictly vegan -- I've added in a couple eggs per week, healthy fish like salmon once a week, and real butter in place of earth balance type stuff (I only use it very occasionally anyway, so might as well have something that isn't highly processed). I'm still entirely plant-based most days and it's the way I prefer to eat -- the few animal products I've added are mostly for the sake of variety and also enjoying things that are part of my family's heritage, which is a factor that so many people overlook when committing to strict diets and I think that's inherently unhealthy. If there's an animal product that's really important to you and your family, don't feel bad for eating it on occasion.

I've obsessed over nutrition studies and read all the books and watched all the videos. I think there's truth to both sides in the plant-based vs paleo/anti-grains debate, but both sides tend to overlook glaring truths that cut into their respective arguments. For instance, there's the fact that triglycerides are raised by diets high in processed carbohydrates. Vegans who eat vegan junk food are not eating a healthy diet. There's also the fact that animal protein and animal fat may not be linked to cardiovascular disease to the extent previously believed, but there is evidence linking meat consumption to cancer, especially if the meat is grilled or otherwise exposed to high heat, and/or when the meat is highly processed (bacon, lunch meats, any meat product that comes in log form, etc.). Just being near grilled meat and breathing in the smoke is hazardous to your health. http://nutritionfacts.org/video/meat-fumes-dietary-secondhand-smoke/

Whatever you decide to eat -- meat, vegetables, fruit, whatever -- stick to unprocessed, organic, and locally sourced whenever possible.

. . .by such scholarly sites as "30 Bananas a day". . .

Just making sure this gem doesn't go unnoticed.

:laugh:

It struck me as a joke? The point being don't rely on random websites?

In addition to all the great suggestions of protein, try Vega One protein powder. It's plant based, has added vegetables and is vegan. Tastes good too. They have a whole line of products.