Going Vegan (Well...almost)

[Galactica]

After my latest checkup by my Dr., I've decide to go into an almost vegan diet. I will have some fish once in a while.

Can someone give me some vegan do's and don'ts. What foods should I avoid (other than "factory meat"). What foods are best? Anyone have a vegan daily-diet list? What makes Soy-based foods and tofu so good for you?

Once I go into this diet, what will I start to notice? What changes are in store (other than a good BM...which is worth its weight in gold).

 

[Carla]

i take cal mag which costs me $72 for 60 days

What is so special about it? I buy one at a pharmacy at about 8$ for 200 capsules. They have at least 10 kinds around the same price..

 

[Seska]

I recommend you get books by Dr. Neal Barnard. His latest one is my favourite. They are very easy to understand and have excellent recipes included. Becoming Vegan is by two very experienced registered dietitians Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina. It is also an excellent resource book. Dr. Dean Ornish's work is also very good.

Check out Physcians for Responsible Medicine for online information and a good starter kit.

Keep in mind simply dropping meat will not offer you health benefits. Just as just focusing on meat is not good for the long term health (especially heart disease and cancer). Whatever you eat as your main protein source you really need to eat vegetables. Lots of them and a wide variety of them. Legumes are also very good for you and versatile. If you have not been eating them regularly you need to introduce them slowly to handle the gas effect.

As an FYI - I have been a strict vegan for 9 years and lacto-ovo vegetarian for 5 years before that. Eating from home is the easiest part for me about being vegan. Eating out is trickier but still doable - especially if you like ethnic food and live in a large city.

 

[AutumnHaze]

I have an odd question as I have many vegetarian friends .As an almost considered carnivore(meat totally dominates on my plate ) , I was wondering how vegetarians feel when they go out to a restaurant with a "meat lover".I don't want to hurt my friends feelings as my best friends ' diet consists of mainly vegetables , fruit , lentilles and pasta. I feel a bit uncomfortable when we order.

 

[chef]

Just like AutumnHaze, I am very much a carnivore. With all due respect, is a vegan diet something that becomes enjoyable, or is it something you get used to because it is supposed to be good for you ? Again, with all due respect, I find that people on severe diets seem to be very serious. I derive great pleasure (and fun) out of the preparation and consumption of a variety of food, and can't equate enjoyment to being extremely careful about what you eat. Please, someone explain it to me......is it good? Please, this is not a flame, so do not respond with a flame.

 

[Fat Happy Buddha]

Just like AutumnHaze, I am very much a carnivore. With all due respect, is a vegan diet something that becomes enjoyable, or is it something you get used to because it is supposed to be good for you ? Again, with all due respect, I find that people on severe diets seem to be very serious. I derive great pleasure (and fun) out of the preparation and consumption of a variety of food, and can't equate enjoyment to being extremely careful about what you eat. Please, someone explain it to me......is it good? Please, this is not a flame, so do not respond with a flame.

I'm not sure whether I can be considered a vegetarian. I don't eat any meat, but I do eat a lot of fish and the occasional egg. I adopted this kind of diet about five years ago out of concern for my health and because I knew that it was a good way to keep my weight under control (I'm a 42-year-old male). In response to AutumnHaze, because I didn't have any ethical problems with eating meat, I don't feel put out in any way when sharing a table with others who are eating meat. In fact, I often wonder if I am being an inconvenience for them, especially when I'm a guest or if a meal is being shared in a restaurant. As for the fun of eating, I have found that being a vegatarian forces me to explore new foods, so I have very interesting diet filled with lots of fruit, ethnic food and so on. It helps that my wife is a good cook with an ethic background. I cut back on soya because I read the it contains estrogen or something like that which reduces male libido. Sure enough, not long after I stopped eating it, Johnny was standing there at salute every day when I woke up in the morning. And, oh yes, the nuts....... if your going to be a vegetarian, you have to eat lots of nuts, peanut butter, almond butter and so on. Making sure you get enough protein and vitamins in the key.

 

[Fat Happy Buddha]

Ground nuts and soy

That was a very informed post, DAK. Thanks. I took special note of the point you make regarding ground nuts and will try reading up on the problem of pesticides they may present.

Regarding soybeans, I didn't spend a lot of time researching the matter but do remember finding quite a few articles saying the way soy is processed in the west differs than in Asia, and this results in there being a lot of hormones (if I remember correctly, it was estrogen) in western soy products. One article even mentioned that children should not consume too much soy.

Here are some relevant results I found with a quick websearch:
http://www.shortnews.com/shownews.cfm?id=51666
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=358197
http://www.mercola.com/2001/may/30/soy.htm
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art14831.asp
http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/soy_story.html
http://www.cjnews.com/viewarticle.asp?id=7887


It appears, however, that there is much disagreement on the subject and for every article that says too much soy may not be good there is another article that says it is not problem.

 

[AutumnHaze]

That's what I was worried about John . One of my friends became vegetarian to lose weight but now she has mentionned a few times the way certain animals are slaughtered . I hope she doesn't show up during my snakes meal time.

 

[Carla]

carla
cal mag
by new chapter
is a whole food herbal probiotic nutrient complex
3 tablets taken daily a bottle of 180 a 60 day suply is 72.99+tax.....

carla--you ahve the money-buy a bottle take 3 1 hr before bed and you will sleep like a baby cal mag is a know factor to help relax and induce deep sleep
as well i suffered from nocternal muscle cramps and this gotrid of this problem
so cramps or trouble sleeping try this stuff
oliver

Oliver, what are you talking about? I found this one online but it's not 72$ and it doesn't seem to contain probiotics..

I do have trouble falling asleep sometimes..
C.