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Anyone else return to meat and dairy also? My hair really thinned, skin dried out and wrinkled, mood changed, blood pressure rose, was sensitive to salty foods, had frequent low blood sugar, etc etc etc, eating vegan. My system was out of whack, mineral/vitamin levels thrown off. Probably protein deficient too. Takes great effort to ensure proper nutrition eating vegan. It was a healthy choice, esp for heart health. But now I just feel better after eating meat and dairy. I'm satiated, eat less, go longer in between meals, have lost weight and don't have cravings for unhealthy food, carbs, sugars. Inadequate protein, vit, minerals caused a starvation feeling and unhealthy cravings. I guess I just feel more normal now going back to meat and dairy.
I feel the same way you do, but in reverse, better when eating vegan, worse when eating meat and dairy.
But I bolded a part of your quote because it does take great effort to do it right or, for that matter, anything else in life that's worthwhile.
Also some have mentioned blood type, and there are probably other genetic and personal metabolic reasons, as well as childhood habits, that shape how one feels on one diet or another.
The good thing is that we live in a society with an abundance and variety of foods and the freedom to choose.
Many, many years ago, I was vegan for about five years. This was after ten years of being lacto-ovo-vegetarian. I did take b-vitamins, but after several years, I started feeling very weak and tired, and I decided to meet with a nutritionist. We found that I was getting less than 1/3 of my daily requirement for protein, on average. It wasn't possible for me to eat the quantity of food needed to get the protein I needed from plants alone (I was not willing to drink huge smoothies with protein powder on a daily basis). I reluctantly decided to start eating meat and fish again, and it ended up being the right decision. I now eat about 80% vegetarian, dairy, with small amounts of meat.
One thing that many people (and, sadly, the more proselytizing of vegetarians/vegans are the worst about this) lose sight of is that we are not all identical. What works for someone who is on one end of the Bell Curve will not work for someone who is on the other end, and there are varying degrees between those ends.
My late best friend of some 35 years and I are an example. She was a vegetarian for the last decade or so of her life, and that worked well for her. I tried VERY balanced vegetarian diets twice and got sick as a dog both times - my body tells me that I need a high animal protein diet, preferably beef or shrimp (I have no idea what's the same between those two but my body clearly does). I eventually decided to listen to my own body more than whatever the "diet du jour" might be. My friend felt no compulsion to insist that I eat the way that worked for her, and vice versa.
OP, it makes sense that you might not do well on a vegetarian diet and that, yes, you NEED (some vegetarians' insistence to the contrary) to eat meat in order to stay healthy.
Years ago I went to an acupuncturist who was trained and lived in China. While going through the regular medical history and tests before deciding what treatment would work best, we came to diet. I told him, rather defensively, that I ate red meat and I was going to continue. His response was, "Good! Everything that I'm seeing says that you need heat, and red meat is the best way to get it." Not the response I was expecting! He went on to say that people have a very confused idea about Chinese medicine, which is actually all about balance, not ideology, and that he'd had vegetarians come in for treatment be quite shocked when he told them that what they really needed was a cheeseburger but it was, indeed, the case.
So listen to your body and give it what its health tells you it needs, and ignore the proselytizing on either side, is my advice.
Anyone else return to meat and dairy also? My hair really thinned, skin dried out and wrinkled, mood changed, blood pressure rose, was sensitive to salty foods, had frequent low blood sugar, etc etc etc, eating vegan. My system was out of whack, mineral/vitamin levels thrown off. Probably protein deficient too. Takes great effort to ensure proper nutrition eating vegan. It was a healthy choice, esp for heart health. But now I just feel better after eating meat and dairy. I'm satiated, eat less, go longer in between meals, have lost weight and don't have cravings for unhealthy food, carbs, sugars. Inadequate protein, vit, minerals caused a starvation feeling and unhealthy cravings. I guess I just feel more normal now going back to meat and dairy.
Years ago I went vegan for a couple years, but ended up feeling very tired & eventually went back to being a vegetarian.
Nearly 5 years ago I returned to veganism for ethical reasons. This time I'm much more careful to eat a variety of healthy foods & take vitamin & mineral supplements that are specifically for vegans.
All I can say is, I'm a woman in my late 50s who weighs 110 lbs., has never had cancer, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, or any other serious illness, & has loads of energy. Some of that may be genes, but I attribute a lot of it to my diet.
It gets easier every year to be a vegan, so many new vegan alternatives keep being introduced. Also, I've seen so many videos & photos & first hand accounts of the treatment of animals in the food industry, I don't feel the slightest temptation to go back.
^ I'm an O blood type as well. I could never give up cheese, and I have zero desire to eat a vegan. But thank you for reinforcing that it is not for me!
Same here. I went vegan for a month in 2010, and it was one of the worst times of my entire life. That vegan cheese was OK, but the meat alternatives all tasted terrible. My cravings for non vegan food was horrible. I ate real dairy, honey, and grilled chicken as soon as I got off that freaky diet.
Same here. I went vegan for a month in 2010, and it was one of the worst times of my entire life. That vegan cheese was OK, but the meat alternatives all tasted terrible. My cravings for non vegan food was horrible. I ate real dairy, honey, and grilled chicken as soon as I got off that freaky diet.
If you have to eat veganized versions of the foods you're not supposed to eat then you're not gonna make it. I'm mostly vegetarian because my boyfriend is. We don't eat soy meat crumbles or veggie dogs or vegan mayo....Because they all taste NOTHING like what they are aiming to sub for. You eat vegetarian food for what it IS and you don't try to make it into meat. Black bean "burgers" don't taste or have the texture of regular burgers but I like them for exactly what they are and when I want a sandwich, they're great.
In my opinion, it comes down to the philosophy of "every thing in moderation."
Eat some meat, enjoy some dairy, sprinkle on a little salt and indulge in some sugar.....in moderation.
If having the occasional bowl of full-fat ice cream and sprinkling some salt on my watermelon cuts a day off the end of my life, then please, God, let it be the day I spend in the nursing home, drooling and out in la-la-land.
In the meantime, I'll enjoy my meat, my sugar, my salt....all in moderation, of course.
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