The Vegetarian & Vegan Thread

[tott]

tott, your diet does seem a bit strange to me, but I am trying to keep an open mind ... I do think that different people's bodies require different things. I find fiber from whole grain sources to be beneficial to me ... I wonder if you are gluten intolerant?

I try to eat in a sustainable way, but I have to face the fact that I am eating like a privileged Western person at almost every meal ...

Wrt saturated fat, I do know that only 50% of heart disease patients have a cholesterol "problem," and the others don't. I think this stat may have been people who had heart attacks, I'm sorry I don't remember exactly. But the 50/50 thing stuck with me (The conclusion being, maybe cholesterol has nothing to do with heart disease.)

You know, I've also wondered if I might be sensitive to gluten. Rice works a lot better for me than rye or wheat for instance.

There are many critical doctors/researchers out there who claim that cholesterol is not bad at all, and I happen to believe them. It just makes sense.

http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm
http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/benefits_cholest.html
http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james23.htm

I avoid margarines (scary chemical processing here...) and polyunsaturated oils in general like the plague; they are unstable and contain too much omega 6 which is inflammatory in the body. Or rather, it's the imbalance between omega 3/6 which is bad (both are essential fats). We generally get way too much omega 6. Some research suggests that these supposedly healthy polyunsaturated fats are the ones that contribute to cardiovascular diseases because of that.

So OK, about that strange diet...

I've cut down on carbs and upped fats, that's about it. And I believe that eating the right kinds of fats is extremely important. It's like Atkins I suppose? If you simply cut carbs and don't replace them with fats, you're in big trouble... The body needs energy, it can't survive on proteins alone.

I start the day with a protein shake, and later have a proper breakfast at the office. Usually scrambled eggs or an omelette with some kind of vegetable or mushroom fried in plenty of butter (and I add a good splash of heavy cream when I beat the eggs).

Lunch can be asparagus with hollandaise sause and salmon roe (had that the other day, yum!)

Dinner might be fried tuna with a rich sauce and a big salad with olive oil.

Snacks: A bit of cheese, cucumber, a few nuts or some berries with whipped cream.

Drinks: Water, green tea, herbal teas, wine.

I end up eating around 100 g of protein, 200 g of fats and 20-30 g of carbs most days. I feel like I'm on a gourmet diet, and I am calm and satisfied and practically never have cravings. I might not end up eating like this for the rest of my life, but right now I feel pretty damned good!

 

[SiennaInLondon]

Tott be careful of the dairy. Cheese and whipped cream can be replaced by tofu and honey you know!

 

[tott]

^

I actually have tiny amounts of honey or marmelade with cheese sometimes.

 

[misssakura]

My dad loves his pepper steaks but he's always loved vegetarian food too. I've always wished he'd cut back on the red meat and beer because he's nearly 70 and has a big gut..oh well.

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

You can take calcium pills. They also have these caramel chews that are delicious. I'm not vegan but eat very little dairy so I take those.

Thanks for the suggestions. I forgot about those chews.

 

[palyxa]

I was eating out for dinner at a restaurant tonight, and ordered a vegetarian pasta. It had spinach, tomato, and garlic mainly. I was really enjoying it until I got 1/2 way through it and found a piece of chicken! Since I'm a vegetarian and have been for like 2 1/2 months now, I found this very upsetting. I told the waitress and she just sort of laughed it off.

She shouldn't have done that, I'd have been really upset too.

Once, I was asking the waitress about chicken stock and lard in their items. It was a healthy place but served meat too. She got really snotty and snapped at me, "If you look on the menu it says we don't use lard. If you don't eat meat pick something vegetarian." Sooooo, I just smiled and ordered. 1/2 way through my meal I noticed shredded chicken under my chilis. I told that waitress and she got really mad at the cook. She felt bad and comped my meal. Crazy.

 

[lostinemotion]

tott, i dont know where you work where you can whip up your own omelette

 

[lostinemotion]

nicky25, I eat normal amounts of protein. But still, a high protein intake is not damaging or dangerous for a normal, healthy person. And I am not starving my body in any way, I've just replaced most carbs with fats. The carbs I eat are mainly from vegetables, some from dairy.

Saturated fats have never been shown to increase the risk of heart disease. Our bodies store fats as satured ones and use them for energy and as buildning blocks (for things like cell membranes, hormones, the nervous system). Our ancestors ate lots of them and so does practically all populations that stick to their traditional diets, and they are typically very healthy, long-lived and lack many of our common modern diseases.

I can assure you that I am not on a "Hollywood diet" to lose a few kilos, though that's a nice side effect. I consider this a diet that I can follow and be healthy and feel great for the rest of my life. (And no, I don't believe that it'll put me in an early grave. I expect the rest of my life to be quite long.)

And thanks Guessgirl! I do believe that good, natural, unprocessed fats (like olive oil, butter, cream and coconut oil) are extremely beneficial for you. On the inside as well as on the outside, my skin is starting to look better than ever!

ok, the neanderthals that ate those diet also had the lifespan of a fly.
most were dead by 24 if they were lucky
saturated fats are bad, why do you think people, even thin people have heart attacks.
not to mention the suspicious death of mr. atkins. he was at his largest when he "slipped" and fell.

 

[nicky25]

very good point! Heart disease is not just for overweight obese people... it can happen to anyone. you really have to balance your diet. grains and pulses really do it for me.. i'm pretty healthy being vegan and i take care of my weight even by eating a lot of 'high carb' foods people would cringe at...
these foods keep me going all day long, are low GI and hence I dont snack or feel hunger pains.

 

[misssakura]

Yeah I rarely go hungry now that I don't really eat any dairy and I don't eat meat. Before I'd eat say, a huge mince lasagne and then an hour later I'd be absolutely starving. I don't get that any more.

 

[justlooking]

If you guys are interested in this topic there's a book (maybe it's been mentioned) called Your body knows best, by Ann Gittleman.

Here's a link to an excerpt from amazon.com, (click on the triangle on the exert to keep reading)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/067...03-8773438-0463012?ie=UTF8&p=S00X#reader-link

It's about finding the foods that make you energized and feel good and how these are different for different people.

e.g. I would die on Tott's regime. I'm a carb monster.

 

[Velony]

justlooking, I just read an excerpt from the book and I must say I'm intrigued. I think I need to order it. Curious. Did it work for you?

 

[lostinemotion]

that anne louise gittleman is the woman behind "the fat flush"
it works and healthy

 

[pavement]

meat makes me


so thats really the top and bottom of it.

dont think i could ever go back to eating meat even the smell makes me feel ill.

I eat meat, but sometimes the smell and taste of it makes me feel ill too. I really like a burger, but I can't eat plain meat or poultry without feeling kind of sick. Maybe my mind is a wannabe.

 

[haute femme]

^ "my mind is a wannabe"

What is it called when one eats fish/seafood but no other meat? I guess there may not be a specific name.. but that's what I've done lately. I will most likely stop all meat eventually, but tiny steps! I just love fish.

I'm big into soy products too, and legumes.. although I haven't tried sprouting now that I'm here in a dormitory .. any college vegans/vegetarians? What do you do in what seems like "restricted options"? Thanks.

 

[misssakura]

If you eat fish but no other meat you're a 'pescatarian'. It's becoming quite commonplace nowadays, one of the most famous adherents is probably Gillian Anderson. I love fish too but I stopped eating fish before I stopped eating meat - I can't believe the insane amount of damage done to rivers and oceans through industrial fishing, it makes me sick to the core.

 

[haute femme]

^ Oh thanks, I haven't heard that word. Yeah after hearing about all of that nastiness it makes me feel sick, too. Hmm..

 

[Anastasia]

If you eat fish but no other meat you're a 'pescatarian'. It's becoming quite commonplace nowadays, one of the most famous adherents is probably Gillian Anderson. I love fish too but I stopped eating fish before I stopped eating meat - I can't believe the insane amount of damage done to rivers and oceans through industrial fishing, it makes me sick to the core.

Thanks for sharing this term. This is what my sister was, for years - she would call herself a vegetarian, and order fish and chips, and I'd give her a hard time, because the last time I checked, fish are part of the animal kingdom.

Then she added in bacon and hotdogs, claiming they're not real food, let alone real meat, still clinging to the veggie label, but when she started going for Wendy's spicy chicken sandwiches, she finally gave it up

She used to have a massive aversion to meat for taste and ethical reasons - she said of all things it was the Pill that made her start eating it, she just became ravenous for it and couldn't stop herself. And she'd been strictly pescatarian for about 15 years.

 

[misssakura]

That's the vegan belief about cheese - if you convince yourself its okay to eat cheese, even knowing the amount of damage and suffering that goes hand in hand with it, then eventually you'll start sneaking in other things until eventually it's back to square one with meat. Makes sense.

(I'll still eat it abroad if there's nothing else though )

 

[Melisande]

God, overfishing makes me weep bitterly...
I used to be vegetarian for over four years, but it was socially and logistically so difficult in this country, where every dish includes some fish. Knowledge about the ocean's ecosystem and all kinds of fish (as well as how to fish and cook them), was my dear grandfather's legacy to me, and I suspect that there is no food in the world on par with Japanese sashimi fresh out of the ocean. In this pescocentric environment, fish is so difficult to give up, and yet, I feel the need to do something precisely because I love fish so. The best I can do now is avoid fish at home.
...Ugh, just send me anywhere else in the world, I'd GLADLY go back to being a pure veggie!

However: my sister pointed out that at this point in history, it's probably more ethical to eat meat occasionally, than to eat fish...although I have no desire to eat meat, I fear she might have a point... I'm be curious what others think.