Joined: 11 Oct 2003 Posts: 23 Location: Sunnyvale, California
Vegetarianism Posted: 10-26-03 18:12pm
I'm confused about being vegeterian.
Right now I am one (i eat only a small
amount of milk products, relying on tofu
and nuts for protein).
However, i'm also recovering from an
eating disorder and my nutritionist
insists that I eat animal protein to
regain my health. This means including
eggs, milk, fish, and even lean poultry in
my diet.
I want to get well, and my soy-based diet
has not helped me heal so far. (i've been
anorexic for many years).
But then there is the other side to this
issue, that it is unethical to kill
animals for our food unnecessarily and
that many people in the world survive on
vegetarian and even vegan diets.
Is anyone out there a vegetarian/vegan who
could help me with this dilemma? Or is
anyone a 'lapsed' vegetarian who now eats
animal proteins and feels ok about it, for
health reasons?
|
aliveagain
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 27 Oct 2003 Posts: 1 Location: phoenix, az
Nutrition Posted: 10-27-03 00:52am
Hi kristina. Im jeff. I might be able to
give you some advice.
I use to be veg. For the most part I eat
a veg. Diet. I eat mostly tuna and some
chicken and turkey but not too much. I
rarely eat red meat. In moderation this
ok. Idealy anti-biotic, hormone free
organic meats are most important, if you
can afford it. I dont eat pork.
You should check out a company called
garden of life. I work at a health food
store and thats how I learned about this
awesome company. Read the book patient
heal thyself. You will learn a lot from
this.
We live in such a toxic world and almost
every this tainted or screwed up. I
always look for purity in foods.
I want to talk more but I gotta go right
now. PM me if you want to chat more.
|
manda panda
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 30 Oct 2003 Posts: 33 Location: New York State
Consider the Options Posted: 11-09-03 14:08pm
Hi kristina! I am an ovo-lacto
vegetarian. I initially decided to "go
veggie" because I come from a meat and
potatoes kind of family and I just wanted
to see if I could maintain a healthy
vegetarian lifestyle. I was also
basically interested in improving my
overall health. (i waited until I moved
away from home though!) as it turns out I
have done so quite nicely. In the last
year, though, I have started including
fish in my diet (tuna, whitefish, salmon,
etc) because there are convincing studies
that link fish consumption with lowered
cancer risk. I have a lot of cancer in my
family, so i'm all about doing anything I
can to cut my own risk factors. I
personally feel that this choice is right
for me. It was never really an ethical
decision for me to stop eating meat, but I
can identify with your desire to not kill
animals unnecessarily. Since I went
veggie I have decided that humans,
especially americans, eat far more protein
than necessary and that there are
satisfying and more humane methods of
finding the proteins we do actually need
without killing animals. It kind of
grosses me out now to see someone dig into
a steak.
But that is me. The question is you. You
are a recovering anorexic.
(congratulations!) i'm not qualified to
say what you need to be healthy. But I
would think that you might want to
consider adding some animal protein to
your diet, even if it's not actual animal
flesh. To me organic (if I can find
organic) dairy products and eggs are a
healthy part of my eating habits. I enjoy
cheese, yogurt, milk, etc. Also, don't
just rely on tofu and nuts. Do you eat
beans and rice? I could practically live
on the stuff! It's considered a perfect
protein. You could add protein powder to
a fruit smoothie too. Your doctor
probably knows what's best for you.
Consider all the options carefully and
work with him/her to create an eating plan
that you can live with. If you want to be
a vegan when you reach a healthy weight,
perhaps you could arrange for that. But
for now, listen to your doctor a little
and focus on being well. Don't feel
guilty if you do decide to relent a
little. Saving animal lives is honorable,
but your healthy life is more valuable in
my opinion. I apologize if that sounds
harsh, but I feel it's the truth. I wish
you nothing but the best as you work
toward your goal!
Manda panda
|
kristina ann bergner
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 Oct 2003 Posts: 23 Location: Sunnyvale, California
Posted: 11-22-03 22:37pm
:d thanks to both of youfor your
thoughtful responses. I decided to give
it all i've got in recovery so i'm eating
a little organic turkey & wild salmon,
in addition to eggs (the omega-3 kind ---
great nutrition!). I feel physically
stronger already, although i'm still
feeling psychologically a bit guilty. But
you are right, eating animals is part of
our survival. I'm trying to be
appreciative of the fact that other
beings, whether animal or vegetable, give
their lives for mine.
This will be an ongoing issue for me, I
think, but for now my priority is getting
well.
Thank you again for the encouragement!
|
jfslenes
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 16 Location: Albuquerque/Taos, NM
Vegans Need Supplements Posted: 03-15-04 13:27pm
Although not a trained expert, my research
leads me to believe that true vegans do
not consume some of the essential
nutrients. It seems pretty dificult to
get all the essentials from plant matter
alone. Something akin to all the fad
diets - they are not balanced in the foods
and nutrients consumed.
If the history estimates are correct, our
distant ancestors consumered maybe 5% of
their calories from wild animal forms.
Those animals were very lean. Not the
fat filled feed lot grown junk sold to
most of us.
Bottum line seems to me that vegans will
improve their health when they find the
broadest spectrum multi and more
supplement they can find. Good luck and
good health!
|
KariM18
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Jan 2004 Posts: 1436 Location: Grand Blanc, Michigan
Posted: 06-01-04 05:48am
Hey hun! Me n u need to talk, were alot
alike! Do u have aol? My s/n is
skeaxryi629. Anyhow, im 18. I also
have an eating disorder for about 2 yrs
,both anorexia and bulimia. I am trying
to recover too right now, for my health,
and for my baby (im 32 weeks pregnant).
I am a vegetarian and have been for 10
yrs. In order to get better, u do not
have to eat meat. You need to eat a
healthy amount of calories and eat a
variety of food groups. Also, we need to
change our mindset which is most
important. But u can subsititute for
meat. I eat veggie burgers, soy, tofu,
cottage cheese, and egg whites for my
protein. Also nuts sometimes. (i eat
some dairy) but no fish etc. Anyhow
goodluck and if u still dont want to eat
meat, u definitly dont have to to get
better! But if u feel like its part of
the reason u have an eating disorder, then
I would consider eating meat. But eating
meat wont make u better either ya know?
Also, allowin yourself some good fats
might help instead of meat.. U could eat
eggs ya know? With the yolk..Or peanut
butter. I know if ur anything like me, I
was afraid to eat that stuff because of
the fat. But now I make sure to include
at least 2 tbs of peanut butter a day! Im
happy to hear u want to get better too*
and u can do it without having to go
against your beliefs!
|
concho
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 5 Location: Liverpool, England
Posted: 07-16-04 18:47pm
Hi, eating meat is probably the best way
to get those nutrients but it is not the
only way. While it is still hard, I
don't deny that, it is possible to get all
the required nutrients from a vegan diet.
The diet should be based around plant
foods and crops. Many fruits and
vegetables and an attempt should be made
to eat as wide a variety of these as
possible to meet nutritional needs. As a
general rule darker vegetables are a great
source of nutrients such as dark green
leafy vegetables (kale, spring greens
etc.). Over processed and unnatural
foods should be avoided if possible,
because many of the worse foods from a
regular meat eating diet can still be
eaten on a vegan diet. Oils such as
hydrogenated vegetable oils containing
trans fats should be avoided. You may
also find that hydrogenated fats that
contain trans fats and tend to be hard at
room temperature, are ingredients in some
vegan burgers and sausages and similar
products so labels should be checked to
look at this and not just to see if the
products are suitable for vegans.
Because animal foods are good sources of
nutrients such as protein, iron, zinc, and
vitamins such as b12, and dairy products
are good sources of calcium, vegans do
tend to use food supplements. This is
not essential because these things can be
found in vegan suitable foods. Zinc and
iron can be found in many whole grains,
nuts, seeds and legumes. Protein is
found in decent amount in most plant foods
and legumes. Calcium is present in good
quantities in things like spring greens,
kale, mustard greens chinese cabbage, and
soya milk. Soya milk can also contain
vitamins d and b12. However, vitamin b12
is only available in fortified soya milk
and it is the most common deficiency in
vegans. Therefore this is the most
popular supplement for vegans.
Hope this helps.
Concho
|
sandyallen
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 4580
Posted: 07-16-04 20:26pm
You have a lot of good help here but if
you might run into a wall at sometime or
other it would be good to contact a
dietition or a nutritionist they can be a
lot of help too. The main thing is you
have to eat.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
sandy
|
2ferano
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Dec 2003 Posts: 3717
Posted: 09-25-04 16:30pm
Vegetarians in general are overall
healthier than meat eaters. As long as
they do not soak their vegetables in
grease.
All you have to do is get your protein
from other things which I am sure you
already know. It isn't any harder for a
vegan to get their daily vitamins and
minerals than it is for a meat-eater.
That is a widely unknown fact.
I'm confused about being vegeterian.
Right now I am one (i eat only a small
amount of milk products, relying on tofu
and nuts for protein).
