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"My Vegan Diet Almost Killed Me!"

Northern Light said:
Huh? I live on a farm and all my meat is organic and local. I work hard for our food. Can you say the same, or do you shop at a grocery store?
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My meat comes from an organic butchers and my veg from an organic farm.
 
Northern Light said:
Huh? I live on a farm and all my meat is organic and local. I work hard for our food. Can you say the same, or do you shop at a grocery store?
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Local farm, no hormones, free ranged, grass fed. Local farm also sources fruits and veggies for us. I've started to get a little into canning/preserving/pickling so I can buy more on season food stuffs and keeping it through the year. But I'm not quite all the way up on it.

I do think that limiting meat consumption can be good. My household will have a couple no-meat days a week and red meat is maybe once (sometimes twice) a week and then we do white meat/fish for the rest. One can be quite healthy with a vegan diet, but they need to be super careful. I prefer to be an omnivore because I like it all. So long as things are in balance, it tends to be ok.
 
Veganism CAN be a perfectly healthy diet. I eat very well as a vegan. The only supplement I use is B12. I have been vegan for several years and am healthier than I have ever been. There are incredibly fit vegan athletes. Every major medical association agrees a vegan diet can be healthy.

Now, there are some caveats to this. Everybody is different. Some people can not handle vegan diets and others thrive on it. Even setting individual biology aside building a HEALTHY vegan diet takes time and knowledge, at least initially. And not everyone has that kind of time. And there are places in the country where the selection of ingredients for making GOOD vegan food is very limited and/or expensive.

People who say veganism is unhealthy and people who say anyone can do it are being equally ignorant.

I personally am against forcing a vegan diet on children because some people don't tolerate it well and childhood isn't the best time to mess around with one's nutrition. It is also a lifestyle that they should have the choice to choose for themselves when they are of age.

Two other somewhat related points about veganism and pets. MOST dogs, which are omnivores, do great on a vegan diet. Your cat, which is a carnivore, will die on a vegan diet.

Humans, talk to your doctors. Dogs, talk to your vet. :)
 
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DifferentDrummr said:
It's incredibly difficult to be a strict vegan and still get the proper balance of nutrients, regardless of your gender or age.

However, once you add dairy products and eggs, most people can do very well without animal meat.
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That's not veganism.
 
TheDemSocialist said:
Well I better hope those 7-10million vegans who include my long term girlfriend and also my aunt and uncle dont suddenly become orthorexia nervosa's... Oh wait, they are both long term vegans and have no symptoms.. But none the less, **** vegans!
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Oh looky, he's bringing his family into it. You know that makes them open for criticism right? Don't cry when someone says something.
 
Militant_Vegan_ said:
her vegan diet has nothing to do with a healthy vegan diet. dumb.

the part about you whining about "ad hom" is rich considering your posts to my thread topics.
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An oxymoron right there.
 
PoS said:
7-10 million vegans? I find that hard to believe since they are a fringe, extremist movement. Where did you get that number from?
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It's a stupid unnatural idea anyway IMO. Homo sapiens evolved to take in animal proteins as part of a balanced diet. IMO, forcing it on kids is likely to damage developing minds and we'll see someday the results. Fat...including animal fat...is important to brain function.
 
Lursa said:
It's a stupid unnatural idea anyway IMO. Homo sapiens evolved to take in animal proteins as part of a balanced diet. IMO, forcing it on kids is likely to damage developing minds and we'll see someday the results. Fat...including animal fat...is important to brain function.
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In fact cooked meat is the reason why we evolved to the higher order sentience we have.
 
clownboy said:
In fact cooked meat is the reason why we evolved to the higher order sentience we have.
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I'd love to see links to the research on that. I've read quite a bit on the subject, havent come across that.
 
Lursa said:
It's a stupid unnatural idea anyway IMO. Homo sapiens evolved to take in animal proteins as part of a balanced diet. IMO, forcing it on kids is likely to damage developing minds and we'll see someday the results. Fat...including animal fat...is important to brain function.
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We already have. Studies on children raised vegan show they experience significant developmental deficits in all kinds of brain functions, from memory to learning. This is probably mostly due to a lack of DHA and EPA. These affects are amplified if they are also deficient in B12 -- which the vast majority of vegans are, and children especially.

DHA and EPA are virtually impossible to supplement for adequately without using animal sources. The body can't make very good use of synthetic and plant variants -- vegans are generally deficient regardless of supplementation. And unfortunately, the same is true of B12 -- many vegans who supplement are still deficient due to poor utilization by the body. It can cause pretty significant developmental impairment.

It's plain irresponsible to feed a growing child a vegan diet, in my opinion.
 
Lursa said:
It's a stupid unnatural idea anyway IMO. Homo sapiens evolved to take in animal proteins as part of a balanced diet. IMO, forcing it on kids is likely to damage developing minds and we'll see someday the results. Fat...including animal fat...is important to brain function.
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If you accept that position, then we also should not eat....

- refined sugar
- fried food
- anything processed, really
- large amounts of meat
- large amounts of grains and grain products (corn, pasta)
- most people should not eat dairy (only 25% of humans are lactose tolerant)
- high calorie counts (we did not evolve in the midst of abundance)
- wine or beer

Somehow, I doubt all these Internet Tough Guys beating their breast about Evil PC Vegan Diets would enjoy a calorie-restricted diet, with very little meat, no chips, no beer. Just a guess. :D


As to the article linked in the OP: There's a reason why some of us know better than to take dietary advice from random 25 year olds with no training in nutrition. To start with, veganism clearly was not her problem; it was her orthorexia. An 800-calorie-a-day diet is not healthy, and not linked to being vegan. She let her website rule her life, another issue not caused by veganism. She had some kind of undiagnosed digestive disorder, and apparently instead of getting that figured out, chose to starve herself. (Hint: Don't trust anyone who claims food can "detox" you.)

As to the horrors of inflicting a poor diet on kids: Have you seen American kids lately? Obesity is has doubled in children, and quadrupled in adolescences, in the past 30 years (to 18% and 21% respectively); nearly 1/3 of children and adolescents are now overweight or worse. Shoving meat at your kids is not necessarily a healthy diet.

The key with any diet is that it's balanced, provides a reasonable amount of calories, and offers proper nutrition. The issue is not that "vegan diets can't be nutritious," it's that you have to generally know what you're doing.
 
Ikari said:
Local farm, no hormones, free ranged, grass fed. Local farm also sources fruits and veggies for us. I've started to get a little into canning/preserving/pickling so I can buy more on season food stuffs and keeping it through the year. But I'm not quite all the way up on it.

I do think that limiting meat consumption can be good. My household will have a couple no-meat days a week and red meat is maybe once (sometimes twice) a week and then we do white meat/fish for the rest. One can be quite healthy with a vegan diet, but they need to be super careful. I prefer to be an omnivore because I like it all. So long as things are in balance, it tends to be ok.
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Yup... I totally support balance, which veganism isn't. Neither is shoveling McDonald's ground beef into one's gullet a few times a week.
 
Visbek said:
If you accept that position, then we also should not eat....

- refined sugar
- fried food
- anything processed, really
- large amounts of meat
- large amounts of grains and grain products (corn, pasta)
- most people should not eat dairy (only 25% of humans are lactose tolerant)
- high calorie counts (we did not evolve in the midst of abundance)
- wine or beer

Somehow, I doubt all these Internet Tough Guys beating their breast about Evil PC Vegan Diets would enjoy a calorie-restricted diet, with very little meat, no chips, no beer. Just a guess. :D


As to the article linked in the OP: There's a reason why some of us know better than to take dietary advice from random 25 year olds with no training in nutrition. To start with, veganism clearly was not her problem; it was her orthorexia. An 800-calorie-a-day diet is not healthy, and not linked to being vegan. She let her website rule her life, another issue not caused by veganism. She had some kind of undiagnosed digestive disorder, and apparently instead of getting that figured out, chose to starve herself. (Hint: Don't trust anyone who claims food can "detox" you.)

As to the horrors of inflicting a poor diet on kids: Have you seen American kids lately? Obesity is has doubled in children, and quadrupled in adolescences, in the past 30 years (to 18% and 21% respectively); nearly 1/3 of children and adolescents are now overweight or worse. Shoving meat at your kids is not necessarily a healthy diet.

The key with any diet is that it's balanced, provides a reasonable amount of calories, and offers proper nutrition. The issue is not that "vegan diets can't be nutritious," it's that you have to generally know what you're doing.
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Not much argument from me.

Altho for reasons stated by myself and Smoke&Mirrors...I dont believe it is acceptable and nutritious enough for developing kids.

Oh...and red wine esp. in reasonable amts is good for you.
 
stupid thread.
 
"My Vegan Diet Almost Killed Me!"
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horse****. you can be healthy while eating a vegan diet. you can also be healthy while not eating a vegan diet.
 
Lursa said:
Not much argument from me.

Altho for reasons stated by myself and Smoke&Mirrors...I dont believe it is acceptable and nutritious enough for developing kids.

Oh...and red wine esp. in reasonable amts is good for you.
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http://www.debatepolitics.com/food/...ion-year-obsession-meat-6.html#post1065770562

7 lessons on anti-ageing from BBC's How To Stay Young - BT

4. Not eating meat is one secret to ageing well.

How to Stay Young
Ellsworth looking pretty good for 100 (BBC/Screenshot)


A study on the population of the town of Loma Linda, California (where vegetarianism is very popular) found that for vegans overall mortality is reduced by a quarter compared to meat eaters and they’re half as likely to get heart disease.

We met 100-year-old Ellsworth Wareham who was a surgeon until the age of 95. He’s been a vegan for 50 years and lives in Loma Linda.


Apparently animal protein stimulates a hormone we all need for growth but as we get older, particularly in middle age, this same hormone speeds up ageing.

You might not have to become a full blown vegan to feel some benefit though, just cutting down the amount of meat we eat can help. And nuts – walnuts especially – can protect us from heart attacks.
 
Helix said:
horse****. you can be healthy while eating a vegan diet. you can also be healthy while not eating a vegan diet.
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I concur. its about knowing what you are eating and paying attention to your body and health.
 
Helix said:
horse****. you can be healthy while eating a vegan diet. you can also be healthy while not eating a vegan diet.
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The fundamental problem with strict vegan diets is their lack of vitamin B12- thats only found in meat.
 
PoS said:
The fundamental problem with strict vegan diets is their lack of vitamin B12- thats only found in meat.
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that's already been disproven over and over, not to mention that many food is b12 fortified. you're grasping at meat straws.
 
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