Today I embark on a month-long experiment of being a vegan. For those that don’t know, a vegan is a vegetarian, but crazier – no meat, and no animal or diary products. Well, it’s not really a experiment, but that word has more umph than “reset” or anything else I could think of. Let me explain.
As most probably know, I’ve been a vegetarian for about three years know. As humans, when one thing is taken away from us, we often compensate with something else. When I became a vegetarian, I took away meat and replaced it with more diary, such as eggs and cheese. Over time, I have become a very poor vegetarian, and probably not much better than a meat-eater when it comes to healthy eating.
To combat all the eggs and cheese I’ve been eating, I’ve decided to “reset” my diet and become a vegan for a month. Why? It will force me to branch out and find more things to eat that don’t contain eggs or cheese. At the end of the month, I’ll emerge with a new, less-cheesy diet, that hopefully will be healthier.
I’ll post updates throughout the month. In the meantime, I have to get rid of all this cheese!
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I am not a vegan. I am not a vegetarian. I like to cook. I like meat. I like food. And, in the last year I combatted high cholesterol scores with a well-balanced diet that involved lean proteins, high fiber, and exercise.
I worry about people who are vegans out of choice because they can become anemic and have little source for true protein.
If you ever eat meet again, let me know, because I make yummy meals.
Annie, don’t worry about us vegans. We aren’t worried about you.
It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes. A vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat (including fowl) or seafood, or products containing those foods. This article reviews the current data related to key nutrients for vegetarians including protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, and vitamins D and B-12. A vegetarian diet can meet current recommendations for all of these nutrients. In some cases, supplements or fortified foods can provide useful amounts of important nutrients. An evidence- based review showed that vegetarian diets are nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from heart disease. Vegetarians also have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Features of a vegetarian diet that reduce the risk of chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals. The variability of dietary practices among vegetarians makes individual assessment of dietary adequacy essential. In addition to assessing dietary adequacy, food and nutrition professionals can also play key roles in educating vegetarians about sources of specific nutrients, food purchase and preparation, and dietary modifications to meet their needs.
Eat that.