vegans/vegetarians?

[AchtungBaby80]

Originally posted by AOIIalum
I do not eat red meat by choice. I don't know if there's a specific term to identify me or not, but I'm not a vegetarian by any means. I adore chicken and seafood, and occassionally will eat pork.

You sound like me. I don't eat red meat, but I usually end up eating fish or poultry about once a week. It's hard to explain to some people...I always get the "But why don't you eat red meat if you eat chicken?" or "Are you a vegetarian or something?" I'm with valkyrie on the vegetarian thing--all this "semi" stuff confuses people. I do not consider myself vegetarian, because I do eat poultry and seafood.

I've been told that the "easiest" (if there is one) way to become a vegetarian is to do it slowly and to start substituting vegetarian foods for the ones you usually eat, like soy milk instead of milk. It sounds gross, but it's actually pretty good.

Oh, and pork falls under the category of red meat, according to my food science text.

[OPhiARen3]

Originally posted by AchtungBaby80
like soy milk instead of milk. It sounds gross, but it's actually pretty good.

Oh, and pork falls under the category of red meat, according to my food science text.

I love soy milk. The vanilla flavor is especially yummy (it works really well to make pancakes with, too ...).

As for red and white meat - those seem to be the two competing definitions I encounter. Some people define the difference based on actual color, and other people draw the line by species (goats, pigs, sheep, and cows are all mammalian, so they go in "red", everything else is not, so they go in "white"). Of course, then some people don't even claim fish as a meat at all, which I've never quite understood but apparently has some kind of Bible basis or something? I don't know ... food is complicated.

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

On the vitamins - I'm already on a pretty good system for the blood disorder. So I should be okay on that. To be honest, I'd heard switching off meat changes your, um, output. And there are other changes that indicate... not exactly a vitamin deficiency, but a change in diet. Like your skin gets worse. True/false?

Any guesses as to why there seem to be more female than male vegans? Or maybe I just know more?

Those of you who are vegan - when you're making dinner/lunch just for yourself, what do you make? I think that's my biggest source of confusion. I can picture making healthy grain-based pasta meals, etc. for two, but I eat a lot differently when it's just me. Soup (which has beef stock in it), sandwiches (are there sandwich meat substitutes?), and at work sometimes the TV dinners I'm embarassed to own up to.

Plus, what about fast food? Do you just have to cut it out of your diet? I know, it's bad for you anyway - but between work and class, every once in awhile I thank God it's so convenient.

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

Originally posted by AOIIalum
Can you recommend an OTC vitamin for those of us who don't eat red meat?

I think the biggest thing with this is figuring out what you want in a vitamin. i.e. What you're missing in your diet.

A LOT of women don't get enough iron. A lot a lot. Calcium is good for women, too - obviously for maintaining/building bone mass (depending on your age) but it can also help with cramps. Vitamin A and E help with skin, nails, and hair... etc.

Be careful you don't end up taking something with 5,000% the recommended dosage. Read the label! You can actually overdose on vitamins - it can make you just as sick as not having enough.

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

Also. I heard if I don't eat meat for, say, three years, and then inadverdently eat something containing meat, I'll be *horribly* sick. Is that an old wives' tale?

[Lady Pi Phi]

Originally posted by AchtungBaby80
...Oh, and pork falls under the category of red meat, according to my food science text.

So why did all the pork people call it the "other white meat" in all their ads?

[valkyrie]

I rarely eat fast food, but I like Subway and, believe it or not, Taco Bell -- Mr. valkyrie eats their bean burritos almost every day I think (he's also a vegetarian).

I've had amazing vegetarian pepperoni, but I can't remember who makes it. If you have a Whole Foods or Wild Oats nearby, you might want to check that out, because they always have TONS of stuff -- I know there are other lunch "meats" and seitan/tofu things. Amy's makes some good vegetarian frozen meals, and I LOVE Boca/Morningstar/Quorn frozen "meat" products -- the veggie breakfast sausage is amazing, as are the brats. Most of this stuff is super easy to prepare and yummy. Keep in mind, however, that I have no idea what, if any, of this stuff is vegan.

Also, I LOVE Edensoy vanilla on cereal.

[AchtungBaby80]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
So why did all the pork people call it the "other white meat" in all their ads?

Marketing slogan, I guess. I dunno, I just go by my book.

ETA: I adore the vanilla soy milk. The Silk Light kind is my favorite.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally posted by valkyrie
This is a pet peeve of mine -- there is no such thing as a semi-vegetarian.

I hear you sister.....
If any of you become a "vegetarian", please don't go around saying "I'm a vegetarian, I only eat chicken and fish". Last time I checked, those were animals too.

[AKA_Monet]

I've been a vegetarian for almost 10 years now...

I have had to go back to eating dairy--such as yogurt and some egg product--like egg-beaters.

You have to know your biology and your genetic make-up to determine if you can handle a vegetarian or vegan diet.

There is something to be said about those free fatty acids found in some meat products--such as fish. And I would stay away from the chicken and other poultry for awhile until the farming industry cleans up the bird flu problem...

I mainly became a vegetarian because I really do not like the meat processing industry. Athough the agricultural industry isn't that much better, you do have options...

If anything, processed foods are a big culprits to the American diet. And even items labeled organic are processed in someway.

But the alternative is loss of production of food items...

It is a catch-22: safer disease free foods vs. high carb, high fat, high salt foods.

We have the best in agricultural and meat processing and the worst in health outcomes. Go figure...

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by CutiePie2000
I hear you sister.....
If any of you become a "vegetarian", please don't go around saying "I'm a vegetarian, I only eat chicken and fish". Last time I checked, those were animals too.

Haha awesome. I thought this sounded familiar.

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

Sorry - did a search but I guess I missed it.

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by valkyrie
I take Viactive multivitamins -- they're chewable chocolate things. They were the ONLY vitamins I found at the grocery store that didn't contain gelatin. It is amazing how much stuff has gelatin.

Have you tried the other flavors?

I've only done chocolate, but Mommy Munch digs the strawberries-n-cream.

I'm not even a vegetarian and I think the semi-vegetarian stuff is ridiculous.

[CUGreekgirl]

I went vegetarian for about 3 wks at the beginning of the year. But then I was going through a stressful time and ended up giving into my cravings for Chik-fil-a chicken nuggets. I'm in the process of trying to go veg. again. The hardest thing I find is wanting to go out to eat with friends and the place they want to go doesn't have anything vegetarian that I will eat.

I really like the Morning Star "fake meat" products. I LOVE the Buffalo 'chikn' nuggets and the crumbles. I've made tacos with the crumbles and they were great. I'm about to try the Hamburger Helper Lasagna w/ the crumbles instead of beef.

Right now I'm just concentrating on going vegetarian, but after I do that well for awhile I plan on at least trying to go vegan.

My main reason for going vegetarian is because vegetarians have 40% of the cancer rate meat eaters do. Knowing that going vegetarian could reduce my likely hood of getting cancer by 60% is major factor since cancer (esp. colon cancers) runs in my family. I also love animals and have always felt bad eating them.

[AKA_Monet]

Originally posted by CUGreekgirl
My main reason for going vegetarian is because vegetarians have 40% of the cancer rate meat eaters do. Knowing that going vegetarian could reduce my likely hood of getting cancer by 60% is major factor since cancer (esp. colon cancers) runs in my family.

Spontaneous colon cancer rates are high no matter what a person eats. And it is age that increases the rate of getting colon cancer not eating behavior. I can quote chapter and verse for you if you'd like, but for every 5 research articles I read on colon cancer reduced by a veggie diet, I can find the same amount that finds inconclusive evidence...

Not eating meat with not change your cancer rate levels... If you are going to get cancer, you will get it either way. But it is pretty strongly shown that eating broccoli can assist you in cellular protection with anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory events.

However, you must eat a lot of broccoli--or cruciferous veggies--to get the kind of vitamin load that can be eaten with other sources of diet--such as fish, some cuts of beef, and maybe some untainted poultry.

For everyone considering the lifestyle--vegetarianism is a lifestyle change. You have to change your entire direction of life. You cannot shift one day to the next. Because that is the quickest way to destroy your body. Moreover, you need to have as much medical information about your body before you make a paradigm shift to a vegetarian lifestyle. Mainly what are your blood sugar levels, your iron levels, all your other metabolic parameters, your body weight changes, for women: your menses; your insulin levels, your family history of all diseases; anything else you can think of. Which means you must get a full physical before switching. You can hurt yourself seriously without proper precautions. I would try to see a natural wholistic doctor trained as an full western M.D. with board certification along with a naturalpathic doctor who can tell you the homeopathy and vitamins needed.

I am telling you all this information because I did not have it and now I am suffering from a chronic disease due to my age. I have to correct it from several different directions including from my own knowlege base.

If you choose the lifestyle, you would want to slow your eating down rather than doing a cold turkey vegetarian.

Pick a meat you choose not to eat, and stop eating it for 1 day, then 2 days, then 3 days, then so on and so forth. That staves off the cravings. I would immediate replace it with a false food--like the chix nuggets--especially Quorun products. Morningstar Foods (A Kelloggs subsidiary) replaces their nuggets with a lot of salt and they still include eggs whites in the mixture...

I would also find a good vegetarian multivitamin as soon as I could. Whole Foods has most of the brands. But if you don't have a Whole Foods grocery store, then go for Schiff Brands, Natrol or NatureMade. Watch out for added cellulose and follow up with A LOT of water.

Flushing toxins are important for a wholistic lifestyle. In cooperation with your physician, you can pursue that avenue.

And I am here to tell you doing all of this is NOT cheap. So, a being a budget vegetarian will not work.

Another person I'd speak to is a dietician and a nutritionist. They have the recommended daily allowances needed for energy support.

You also need to consider physical activity in your regimen. Some of that includes weight training.

So be careful out there. I am not a physician, but I am a Ph.D. in molecular genetics that studies human diseases in animals and I do know some things. But I see a lot of illness brought on by pursuing these fad diets and "vegetarian diets" that are taught by less qualified people that give the truly wholistic practioners a bad rap...