O.k. ready to problem solve...?

Question

I was vegan and diagnosed with a severe allergy to nuts and beans. Including soy. I ended up in the hospital 3 times before we figured out what was wrong. My doctor told me I needed to change my diet- obviously- the hospitals nice and all but...Anyways- I started eating free range eggs for protein. I am concerned about the choloesterol. Does anyone know where the protein is and where the cholesteral is? I have heard that the chol. is in the yolk and the protein is in the white- that just seems too easy.

Also, does anyone know of any strange places to find protein? I found a bread for atkins people (which I feel a little weird buying).

Remember- N
No soy= no tofu, veggie burgers, crumbles
No Beans= no hummus, bean dip, veggie chili...

Answer 1

Amino acids are the 'building blocks' of proteins, as they say. What they don't tell you is that you get amino acids out of almost every kind of natural food that you eat. The problem with being a vegetarian is that you can't usually get all of the essential amino acids in one place for a complete protein. You will have to vary your diet considerably. Of course, everyone should eat a variety of foods, but you will have to be extra careful. If you decide to forego being vegan (good idea) and stay vegetarian, eat lots of dairy (cottage cheese is a very good source of protein), and mix up your carbs with vegetables and fruit so that you are getting complete protein. That said, we tend to over-consume protein, so I wouldn't be overly concerned unless you only eat the same thing every day.

Re: eggs. The yolk is the part that carries the nutrients to the embryo (if the egg were fertilised, which it is usually not). Therefore, it will contain the lipids - i.e. cholesterol and fat. It will also contain sugars. The white part is ovalbumin - a protein. You can safely eat the egg whites without worrying about cholesterol.

Answer 2

If you eat eggs now, you might as well eat some cheese, too, don't you think? Then you shouldn't have much of a protein problem, with maybe some yogurt, also. I wouldn't worry about your cholesterol level at all, because since you are not eating any other saturated fats, your level will be low with just the eggs. I was a vegan for many years, but I missed cheese too much. I like grilled cheese sandwiches a lot, and I could not find any "fake" cheese that would melt. So after I went back to cheese, I eventually went back to yogurt for smoothies also. I still don't eat eggs, even range eggs, I just don't trust them to be free of hormones. I really can't tell much difference from the years I was on a raw food only diet (nothing cooked, no bread, either), and my diet today. I have been a vegetarian or vegan for 37 years. With your food allergies, it looks like you are limited in your choices for protein, but if I had to choose eggs or cheese for protein, I would choose cheese. I think dairy cows are the only animals that don't have hormones added to their feed anymore. I have heard that range chickens can have hormones added to their feed and they don't have to disclose it, even at a health food store. Maybe you can find someone with chickens and buy eggs from them, then you should be fine. It must be so terrible to be vegan, and have these problems. Good luck to you.

Answer 3

I think eggs are a very good option.
but that wouldn't work for a vegan.
don't worry about how much cholesterol you eat.
turns out that isn't what causes your cholesterol to be high after all. Anyway it's mostly not. Have your cholesterol tested if you're worried. think about cheese?
also milk or yogurt has lots of protein,
again since you apparently are no longer a vegan.

Answer 4

You really don't need to worry about cholesterol, cholesterol is essential for life, and thus if you don't eat enough your body compensates by creating more itself; on average your body creates four or five times more than the average person consumes. This means vegetarians, as a rule, don't have any lower blood cholesterol than someone on a normal diet. Not eating any cholesterol can be quite dangerous though.
If you lead a generally healthy lifestyle you don't need to worry about cholesterol at all anyway.

Kyle Key, I wasn't trying to suggest that cholesterol cannot be bad, but to worry about tiny amounts in your diet is absolutely ludicrous.

Answer 5

You can definitely still be vegan. Make good friends with whole grains (oats, wheat, spelt, quinoa, amaranth, barley, brown rice, you name it) and seeds (flax and pumpkin are great), in addition to continuing the consumption of fruits and vegetables, of course. You'll get enough.

But probably the best advice you can take away from this question is that you should ignore anything AndyB says. His extreme lack of medical knowledge will end up hurting many people.

Answer 6

Here's a list of protein sources for vegans, including plant-based:

http://www.soystache.com/plant.htm

Answer 7

Whole grains have protein. Apparently, vegetarian fed eggs have less cholesterol then regular eggs.

Answer 8

I would suggest you talk to your doctor about a nutritionist"s recommendation. Perhaps he can refer you to one, or has ideas of his/her own, Good luck. Oh, and the cholesterol is in the yoke of an egg

Answer 9

o.k. i think you need to reevaluate your diet.
i suggest low-fat protein shakes adn as for the eggs...i'd eat mostly the whites, but eat a few yolks sometimes. also, what about egg beaters.

gosh...i just don't know.