Vegan Diet - Healthy?

back2thebooks · Jan 7, 2009

Yeah, I thought I was eating vegan for a while, and a vegan friend of mine told me about all the "hidden" dairy in many of the products I was eating. Now, I try to eat vegan, but there are always those dairy products that sneak by me, so I am technically a lacto vegetarian.

It does help now that the manufacturers are labeling 'contains: dairy, etc.' more often. Unless you have a child with true food allergies (or if you have celiac disease), you just don't 'get' it. It's very, very challenging. We've been eating this way for 2.5 years now and yes, now I am able to go into the store and get things quickly, however, we can't shop at a regular grocery store. We have to shop at Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc. Our grocery bills went from about $400 a month to about $900. It's just that each of these ingredients disguise themselves as sooo many different names--hence the issue you were having with the hidden dairy---it doesn't always (or should I say it rarely) say 'milk' on the label, it could be potassium lactate, caseinate, etc. Here's a link of a printout from the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network for help on recognizing milk and other allergens on labels: http://www.foodallergy.org/downloads/HTRLsheet.pdf Sorry I've gone OT here....

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 7, 2009

I considered going vegetarian for a while. The many I self-righteous vegetarians/vegans that I encountered changed my mind.

Interesting you've come across many veg*ns (vegetarian/vegans), much less many self-righteous ones. Must be regional, because I don't come across many veg*ns here at all, When I do I'm usually pleasantly surprised because most of us are just quietly going about our business. Most of the time it's people that eat meat that are taken aback and put us on the defensive...."you're eating what???? Where do you get your protein from? I have to have my meat, humans are carnivores, etc." The criticims perhaps is what makes us get a little self-righteous? :banghead:

Yes, self-righteous veg*ns do exist and they are a pain, just like any other self-righteous person.

WalkieTalkie, RN · Jan 7, 2009

I'm usually pleasantly surprised because most of us are just quietly going about our business. Most of the time it's people that eat meat that are taken aback and put us on the defensive...."you're eating what???? Where do you get your protein from?

Ugh, I get this all the time and it's sooooo annoying! They are like "aren't you anemic?" Umm, NO!!!! AND I donate blood all the time! Grrr!

I've been a strict octo/lavo vegetarian for 10 years now with no problems.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jan 7, 2009

I have a friend who is studying to become a registered dietitian. She told me once that osteoporosis was rampant in the Asian population because their normal diet is virtually absent of most all dairy products. The same was true for any other country with the same dietary practices.

Asians do have lower bone density and thus higher rates of osteoporosis compared to Caucasians. But - here's the 'x' factor that researchers are trying to understand: they have lower rates of fractures than Caucasians.

This is straight from my nutrition text book. I've done a little reading about this on my own, from other sources, and some experts speculate that this density/fracture disparity has to do with differences in collagen, not calcium in the bones.

bassandtea · Jan 7, 2009

A well balanced vegan diet is healthy for all stages of development. Most of the vegans that I have met and know have a greater knowledge of human nutrition than those that are not vegan. They spend time researching what foods offer the most balanced diet and contain all the essential nutrients. I've also observed that vegans tend to eat a wider variety of foods than non-vegans.

You'll also find a number of vegans have books on vegan nutrition and try to keep up to date on nutritional research. There are a number of resources that are considered to be the 'essentials' of vegan nutrition, most which include charts detailing protein/calcium/iron etc contained in foods that are typical of a vegan diet.

The cost of a vegan diet can be low or high depending on what the individual chooses to eat and where they buy their food from.

I also know a number of raw vegans - all who are among the healthiest people I know. Like other vegans raw vegans tend to do a lot of dietary and nutritional research.

Yes some vegans can come across somewhat self-righteous, but often that is the result of frustration from being asked the same questions over and over and with most of the questions not being a particular concern with a vegan diet.

CHATSDALE · Jan 7, 2009

i really like the taste of milk and meat is the basis for most meals, ie: roast beef with veggies around it is a sunday dinner

we have vegans of different sorts in our family and for the record the most judgemental was one of those..she would come to Thanksgiving and spent most of her time ranting about the food although there were plenty of vegatables of all kinds to eat...she was the dtr of the one invited and when he went by the wayside we didn't have to deal with her

my sons dd is a vegan but a different type than i have seen before, she is from the pacific northwest so they may be more common there, she eats cakes that have milk/eggs in them but will not eat an egg or drink a glass of milk but will eat cheeze on a veggie pizza

other vegans also but i have not noticed that they are more or less healthy than their carnivoir counterparts

i don't know why some vegans believe that nonvegans eat unhealthy, fast food exclusive diets...a thoughtful parent gives their child the best food that is available and this can be accomplished w/wo excluding meat

i like some foods raw but i don't believe i could exist on raw exclusive

TO ALL i hope that you enjoy your meals what every they contain, live long and share your meals with your friends and family, may laughter and love be at every table

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jan 7, 2009

Well said, Chats!!

I am an unabashed meat eater, so my perspective on all of this may be somewhat skewed. Most of the vegans I know are either quite chunky, or they look pinched and shriveled, like Ethiopian famine victims; they get sick at the drop of a Kleenex; they suffer from anxiety; and they chew their nails ragged. Maybe they aren't good examples of healthy vegetarianism; I wouldn't know because I could never be one. For me, the question is "If we weren't meant to eat animals, then why are they made of meat?"

Atheos · Jan 7, 2009

For me, the question is "If we weren't meant to eat animals, then why are they made of meat?"

By the ratio of different teeth in our mouths we can tell exactly what biology and nature intended us to do.

We all have incisors, cuspids (canines), bicuspids and molars. Incisors are of course multifunction.

That leaves 2 other functions. The cuspids which are geared towards tearing food. The majority of that being meat. The bicuspids and molars are used for crushing, chewing and grinding. This is used for all food but mostly vegetation.

The MAJORITY of our teeth are either for vegetation or multifunction. This right there tells us that meat is only an option. Not a requirement.

As Omnivores we are not 'MEANT' to eat meat. We are 'MEANT' to eat what is at hand. Based on biology alone and what happens based on certain diets it is quite clear the nature intends the majority of our diet to consist of vegetation.

This is quite obvious because depending on circumstances meat can be rare or hard to get. Unlike the typical American diet where meat is the main portion, meat was intended to be a supplement while vegetation is the main dish.

So, were we meant to eat meat? Only in a limited fashion IF available or necessary.

Many people confuse the definition of omnivore. Omnivore does not mean that you NEED vegetables and meat. It means that you CAN eat vegetables and meat. While we are omnivores, we are closer to the herbivore side than carnivore.

We NEED vegetation. We don't NEED meat.

But, I'll be the first to admit that meat is oh so good. A proper steak is heaven on earth IMHO.

fancypants · Jan 7, 2009

As a vegetarian, I had to reply to this thread. I think quite a few people tend to go with stereotypes of vegans to form their opinions or form an opinion of the whole based on the one or two vegans they met. As with any group, this is a fallacy. If I based my opinion of a meat based diet based on the people I know then I would come to the opinion that ALL people who adhere to a meat based diet are overweight. Of course though, this is far from true and isn't factoring in other variables besides meat in their diet that could be the reason for their conditions such as the people I know might not work out and eat cookie dough for snacks.

Also, why would one judge most vegans to be judgemental because of the actions of one person at a family dinner? If I judged groups of people based on the actions of one member then I would have some very unhealthy opinions of a lot of groups. There are unhealthy and judgemental vegans, just like there are unhealthy and judgemental people who eat a meat based diet. I think what some are seeing isn't a vegan thing, but a PEOPLE thing.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 8, 2009

Well said, Chats!!
I am an unabashed meat eater, so my perspective on all of this may be somewhat skewed. Most of the vegans I know are either quite chunky, or they look pinched and shriveled, like Ethiopian famine victims; they get sick at the drop of a Kleenex; they suffer from anxiety; and they chew their nails ragged.

That's a shame because you live in one of the most vegetarian friendly places in America......home of probably the only vegan mall. Surely there are some "normal" vegans there. LOL

Unfortunately some people with eating disorders use veganism as an excuse to cut calories, and some of them do have food issues.

firelyte42 · Jan 8, 2009

I am a vegan too that refrains from processed foods and all dairy. I have learned this way after years of horrible digestion and abdominal troubles. Since birth I could not process milk product and the only alternative to the breast was sweetened and condensed milk or this goat's milk and keifer thing going on in the "community" that most had never heard of. Since my mom (huge party girl) had limited resources I was on oatmeal and water very early on. I love the taste of all the foods my body just won't process...but I know that I will be in extreme pain and discomfort if I do try to ingest them. I eat a wide variety of the season's fruit and veggies trying to buy organic when financially able, and I am relatively healthy. I run an 18 hour day on most accounts and hope for a full six to eight hour sleep. I exercise as I huff through campus to classes and at the restaurant I keep weekend hours at. I would suggest that the information be pulled and looked over. Any type of discrimination can and will be used against you later. I actually watched an instructor be termed because he refused to rebuke his lecture that in order to be healthy- the food groups are and must be used.... because of the must be attitude, he was dismissed mid term. Just in case you are too far one extereme or the other

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jan 8, 2009

Well, it appears that stereotypes abound. The super-vegan believes the mere vegetarian is not "doing it well enough". The vegetarian believes that the omnivore is misguided and misinformed. The omnivore (are any of us really true carnivores? Nah...) believes that the vegetarians aren't really healthy, and that the vegans are really just whackjobs anyway.

My way is the only right way--LOL!

Vive la difference!