Is being a 'Vegan' worth it?

Question

I was one, then i moved far north (northern manitoba)
. I can't find veggies

Answer 1

I first learned about veganism in 1990-1 when a coworker recommended that I read Diet for a New America. At the time, I was a new lacto-ovo vegetarian for ethical reasons, but I had no idea about the suffering involved in the production of milk and eggs. Reading Diet for a New America made it clear to me that I would have to become vegan.

It took me a year or so to fully transition from lacto-ovo vegetarian to vegan. Because my family had been concerned when I became vegetarian, I didn’t want to tell them that I was trying to become vegan, so when I wasn’t at home I was still eating milk products and eggs. (I also thought it would be to hard to eat out as a vegan.) My husband quickly figured out I was becoming vegan, of course.

Being a worrywart, I wanted to be totally sure that veganism was safe, so I went to the medical library at my university and read everything I could find. In this way I reassured myself and also learned about some pitfalls to avoid, such as not including a reliable source of B12 (supplements or fortified foods—seaweed doesn’t cut it).

I became a full-time vegan on January 4, 1992.

I used to be so impressed when I met people who had been vegan for many years, but now that I have been vegan for many years I think it is only getting through the first year or so that is impressive. By now, it is easier for me to be vegan than not to be. If for some reason I wanted to no longer be a vegan, I would have to make a special effort to learn how to cook new foods, find new places to eat, etc.

My son was born in 1998. I remained vegan throughout the pregnancy and years of breastfeeding. My son has been raised as a vegan, and is proud of being a vegan.

Answer 2

I don't agree with it at all. My sister knows a family of 7 that are vegans and apparently the 5 kids are pale as anything and have many health problems.(I don't know if it has to do with being vegans or not) All I know is that we are meant to eat meat, it's good for us and we need the proteins, fat and all that's in it.

Answer 3

It really is, I have only been Vegan for a little while, but I have never felt better in my life. Feeling so good is also making everything easier. I hope you give it a try.

Answer 4

i was vegan for 6 years, had a baby, for his health and mine, i had to start eating some fish, chicken, etc. now i have my son, and i dont have the time or energy.......i eat meat now, but i also gained like 50 lbs... when i was vegan, i was thin.....


do what you want.

Answer 5

No, but couldn't you eat canned veggy's?

Answer 6

Not from a health perspective. If you are really careful, you can be as healthy as someone on a good meat eating diet. A veggie diet isn't any healthier per se. Of course, the wide range of fruit and veg a vegan diet entails is good for you, but not eating meat isn't.
There are no real disadvantages to eating meat. Yes, vegans are less likely to get heart disease and often live longer. They are also less likely to smoke, drink, eat junk food or be idle, which obviously effects the results. They are generally more health conscious because they have to be, living off an unnatural diet. Not eating meat does not, in itself, give any true benefits.

They say a veggie diet contains less cholesterol. So? Most people do not need to worry about cholesterol in the slightest. Most people's bodies are perfectly well adapted to prevent blood cholesterol levels getting to high. But cholesterol is needed for life, and as such if you don't eat much cholesterol your body compensates by creating more (it creates four or five times more normally anyway). Cutting out cholesterol is probably to no benefit to anyone unless they already have a related health problem, and you can still have high cholesterol if you eat none. It's a problem with how your body handles it, not how much you eat (although if your body doesn't handle it well, eating loads isn't a good idea).
My Dad used to live a reasonably unhealthy lifestyle when we was younger: lots of fry ups, quite a bit of beer, spent lots of time in smoky pubs although he didn't smoke himself and didn't exercise very much. Yet, he still had a low cholesterol level. Of course, his lifestyle still wasn't great, and he wasn't thin, but it just illustrates the problems with the way of thinking that any dietary cholesterol is bad for you. What's more, a much healthier way of lowering cholesterol (or getting rid of saturated fats) than cutting them out from your diet is exercise.

They claim it can give you cancer. So can some plants. Soy especially is known for containing carcinogens. The risk of catching cancer from meat is at most very low anyway, and not actually proven.

On the other hand, the value of meat is well known. It is well established that eating meat improves the quality of nutrition, strengthens the immune system, promotes normal growth and development, is beneficial for day-to-day health, energy and well-being, and helps ensure optimal learning and academic performance.
Meat is an important source of quality nutrients, heme iron, protein, zinc and B-complex vitamins. It provides high-quality protein important for kids’ healthy growth and development.
The iron in meat (heme iron) is of high quality and well absorbed by the body, unlike nonheme iron from plants which is not well absorbed. More than 90 percent of iron consumed may be wasted when taken without some heme iron from animal sources. Substances found to inhibit nonheme iron absorption include phytates in cereals, nuts and legumes, and polyphenolics in vegetables. Symptoms of iron deficiency include fatigue, headache, irritability and decreased work performance. For young children, it can lead to impairment in general intelligence, language, motor performance and school readiness.

There are other things only found in, or of better quality, in meat, like zink, protein and some minerals, but I don't want to turn this into an essay, and I'm tired.
However, some people believe they can fill the gaps in their veggie diet with pills, but they are fooling themselves. Research consistently shows that real foods in a balanced diet are far superior to trying to make up deficiencies with supplements. We don’t yet know all the functions of foods. For example, phytochemicals are known to be protective against cancer, but many are unidentified; there may be over 100 different phytochemicals in one serving of vegetables. Another recent discovery is the cancer protective effect of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) from animal fats, found almost exclusively in animal foods, and one of the most potent natural anticarcinogens ever identified.

People like PETA claim otherwise, they claim that meat is bad for you; they are distorting the truth. Humans have, as omnivores, been developed to eat meat. There are few disadvantages to meat our body is not completely adept at handling, how could there be, evolution does not create a species unsuited to its natural food. On the other hand, there are many benefits to our body from eating meat.

As for ethics, the animals that go for slaughter are killed instantly and painlessly, they don't suffer. They are much better fed and cared for than they would be in the wild, and live in a less stressful environment (for the most part, I acknowledge battery farming chickens isn't very good ). PETA shows you a few horrific, and illegal, cases, that doesn't mean it's all like that. What's more, that they are eaten has ensured that their species thrives. If they weren't food, I find it unlikely that cows would be very common at all, if not extinct, as their untamed ancestors are. If we were to stop eating them now, no one would keep them and as we couldn't release them into the wild, they'd have to be slaughtered.

Answer 7

you can get really sick if you dont get enough protein and and i would give it up. if you wanted to stay vegan you could drink non dairy protein shakes like soy ones those have lots of protein.

Answer 8

nope because most end up low in the protein department.

plants hurt too why can you hurt plants but not animals just cause you can't hear them doesn't mean they don't scream. Scratch a tree with a needle you can watch it bleed just the way your arm would.

Answer 9

If you become a Vegan, will you live forever?
NO??!!??
Then enjoy life and forget the trendy garbage!

Answer 10

I think more people should become vegetarian.
With less demand for beef, the price will drop, then I can eat more.