05/17/2024
I'm VEGAN!
And have been for over 30 years.
More aptly, I am a plant based vegan who eats only minimally processed foods.
And I feel amazing. I have energy. I sleep well. My digestion is great. My mood is stable.
I am aware that there are "junk food vegans", as I call them, who consume all the processed vegan convenience foods and those that simulate animal products. That is NOT me.
Lately I have been seeing a lot of "vegetable trashing" and a trend saying it is healthier to eat animal products and exclude vegetables from your diet because plants contain "toxic" substances that harm your health.
Yes, plants have protective substances in them, such as oxalates, but we also produce oxalates as a waste product! Find a link in the comments to an article that talks about the research finding that people who eat MORE fruits and veggies may actually tend to get fewer kidney stones (which are typically made of oxalates).
Vegetables also contain a vast supply of vitamins, minerals, water, and fiber! The key is to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables (preferably what is in season at your farmer's market) and only those that are organically produced.
If you are a vegan you will need to supplement with DHA, an essential fatty acid that is a key component to brain structure. I get mine from marine algae (which is where fish get their DHA from!) or Ahi flower supplements. Even if you eat meat, unless you are consuming a source high in DHA such foods as sardines or salmon every day, you are probably not getting enough. Fish also store mercury and other heavy metals, as well as dioxin and PCBs (hormone disruptors).
B12 is another thing that I often supplement as it is hard to get it from the plant world. Fortified nutritional yeast, nori and sh*take mushrooms are the plant sources that contain B12. I typicall will supplement, but often with a B complex vitamin, as most of us, even meat eaters, need additional B vitamins, since they are rapidly used up when we have stress in our lives! The absorption of B12 is dependent on stomach acid, so if you are deficient in hydrochloric acid or if you are taking medications to block stomach acid, you may not be absorbing the B12 you are consuming!!
If you do choose to eat meat, choose high quality grass fed beef or bison, chickens and eggs responsibly raised, and wild fish. It is preferable to get your animal products directly from the farmer or fisherman - many will ship their products frozen. And eat a piece of meat that is the size of your palm and fill the rest of your plate up with veggies! I counsel people to only eat animal products at home where you have control over the quality and have a veggie meal when you are out (and choose a vegan restaurant that uses organic vegetables!)
The bottom line, no matter what, is how do you feel? Are you energized? Do you sleep well? How is your digestion? Do you have aches and pains? Depression? Anxiety? Health issues?
If you have problems with any of the things I listed above, your diet may be part of the cause!
If you need some guidance with YOUR diet or any of your health issues, contact me for a free 15 minute consult to see how I can help!!
https://plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/health/carnivore-md-says-diet-negatively-impacted-health/?
Paul Saladino, known as Carnivore MD, has been a leading advocate for the carnivore diet, but now says it has had a bad effect on him.
