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i'm already vegetarian and my mom thinks that i don't eat enough protein and nutrition as it is. so i've been thinking about being a vegan, it was just a thought but i'm not sure if i could do it considering that i have been losing weight and my size two jeans are big on me! i feel uncomfortable eating anything that comes from an animal though. whta do you think and what are some good things that i could eat and stay healthy if being a vegan?

2007-01-23 14:18:28 · 19 answers · asked by jessie 3 in Food & Drink Vegetarian & Vegan

19 answers

I think you should take some time and do research on Vegan diets to make sure you are eating properly before attempting it. A Vegan diet is perfectly healthy when done properly. You just need to learn how to do that.

There is a great book called Becoming Vegan, check that out, I'm sure it will help you.

@ Juanita S (below): Sorry to single you out but you provided so much misinformation that I can’t really let this one past:

“problem with being a vegetarian is you're simply not getting the complete amino acids that only meat can supply.”

- That is false, soy foods, beans, grains, nuts, and vegetables all provide protein. Eating at least two of these things over to course of a day provides the complete array of amino acids. Notice I did not say they need to be eaten together in the same meal. This fact isn’t even debated in scientific circles anymore.

“ Too much soy is no good either and most vegetarians live on Soy. Do a search on the dangers of soy and read for yourself.”

- To much anything is no good, and most vegetarians do not live on soy. Ask the Veggies that frequent Yahoo! Answers and I will bet that most will say they include soy in their diet, but it is not a staple.

“ I was vegetarian for several months and it made me very moody, then I ate fish and felt so much better.”

- Not to be rude but if this answer is any indication you probably did not know how to eat properly as a vegetarian.

“ If animal cruelty is your concern, try getting your meat and eggs from a local farm or market where they have good practices.”

- The problem is that no one has “good practices”. Fist of all, the animal is still being killed, no matter how nicely you treat it before hand the animal is still being killed prematurely for someone to stuff their face. Second, meat that is slaughtered on a family farm is not leagally allowed to be sold retail. All animals must be slaughtered at a slaughter house to be sold to consumers. Even “Happy Meat”, must be killed this way.

“ My concern is that people who are young need the nutrients and the protein while they are growing.”

- Fortunately for the person asking the question this in not a concern shared by national and world health authorities.

“ The other thing is, if you're going to go vegan or vegetarian you have to be willing to put in the effort to cook for yourself. My sister lives on frozen vegetarian entrees which are mostly soy. That's not good.”

- I think we figured out why she is sick.

“ You gotta eat the veggies!”

- You sure do.

“And you gotta get your amino acids and essential fatty acids, omega 3's. Omega 3's are best found in fish and fish oil supplements. Flax oil just isn't enough.”

-No, Fish and Fish oil are good sources of mercury, in addition to providing Omega 3’s. Flax Oil is perfectly acceptable. Please site a source to explain otherwise.

“I believe in protein…”

- Protein exists whether you believe in it or not.

“… because I've suffered candida for so long which is basically a bacteria that feeds on sugar. A Candida diet is just protein and veggies. A vegetarian with Candida couldn't even efficiently fight it. (You can read up on that too if your wish.”

- I work for an ND, so I know just how false that is. A proper Candida diet eliminates all white things from your diet. White bread, white flour, sugar, potatoes, etc. She is a strict Vegetarian, try telling her that a Veggie can’t fight it. Whole wheat is just fine, which makes being a Veggie on a candida diet pretty easy.

“You should also find out what metabolic type you are. There is a book called The Metabolic Typing Diet which I recommend you check out so you can find out if your personal body chemistry does better with more protein or more carbs. If you're a carb type being vegetarian may work for you, if you're a protein type, I'd not recommend it. “
-
No serious medical professional, in either allopathic or alternative medicine believes metabolic typing. There is exactly zero research to back it up. It’s 100% bunk. Look up the ADA’s opinion on it. Then go look at their position paper on Vegetarian and Vegan diets.

2007-01-23 14:26:57 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2 0

my younger sister (15) is also vegetarian and she has been developing different health problems. The problem with being a vegetarian is you're simply not getting the complete amino acids that only meat can supply. Too much soy is no good either and most vegetarians live on Soy. Do a search on the dangers of soy and read for yourself. I was vegetarian for several months and it made me very moody, then I ate fish and felt so much better. If you can even add some good fish to your diet that will help a lot. If animal cruelty is your concern, try getting your meat and eggs from a local farm or market where they have good practices. My concern is that people who are young need the nutrients and the protein while they are growing. The other thing is, if you're going to go vegan or vegetarian you have to be willing to put in the effort to cook for yourself. My sister lives on frozen vegetarian entrees which are mostly soy. That's not good. You gotta eat the veggies! And you gotta get your amino acids and essential fatty acids, omega 3's. Omega 3's are best found in fish and fish oil supplements. Flax oil just isn't enough. Hope this helps! I believe in protein because I've suffered candida for so long which is basically a bacteria that feeds on sugar. A Candida diet is just protein and veggies. A vegetarian with Candida couldn't even efficiently fight it. (You can read up on that too if your wish. Candida occurs in everyone but if it gets out of hand it can cause multiple issues, esp. in women.) You should also find out what metabolic type you are. There is a book called The Metabolic Typing Diet which I recommend you check out so you can find out if your personal body chemistry does better with more protein or more carbs. If you're a carb type being vegetarian may work for you, if you're a protein type, I'd not recommend it. I just think you need to do the research before you make a decision which will effect you in such a big way. Hopefully for the better, but do your research.

2007-01-23 14:37:05 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

A vegan diet is incredibly healthful, provided you do it sensibly. Since you're a vegetarian, you're probably already pretty aware of what you're putting into your body, and I think that's a good thing. Eating organically will help you be healthy and get the nutrients you need. Make sure you eat a varied diet, and not just eating junk that doesn't contain animal products. If you're not sure about what kinds of meals to eat, try looking up recipies. One site i use is allrecipies.com. Search "vegan" and see what it comes up with. Maybe your mom will be interested in preparing some vegan meals or helping you do so.
Also, there are tons of products you can substitute for the ones you already use. Maybe your family would be willing to use soy butter instead of the milk kind, for example.
You don't want to be unhealthily thin, so consider the amounts of nutrients you need to take in, and source them in your food, taking supplements if necessary.

2007-01-23 14:37:25 · answer #3 · answered by jenniwren 1 · 0 0

There's nothing at all wrong with being a vegan. In fact, you will likely be more healthy. But remember, you can still have bad eating habits as a vegetarian. So stay away from sugar, white flour products, and white flour. And don't eat tons of bread.

Eat whole grains, lots of vegetables and fruits. And like the others have suggested, beans.

You can be totally healthy without any meat or even dairy. Vegetables have much more nutrients than meats. You don't see a cow eating meat. They eat grains.

2007-01-23 14:34:05 · answer #4 · answered by vrrJT3 6 · 0 0

Any diet is dangerous if not properly balanced--even omnivorous diets! A balanced vegan diet high in whole grains, veggies, fresh fruit and beans/legumes, supplemented with a good vegan multivitamin, is very healthful.

Before making the switch, do some research into healthy vegan diets. If you can find something specifically on vegan diets for growing kids and teens, all the better. Also, talk to a licensed nutritionist--your doctor can refer you to one.

If you think you're becoming too thin, try eating more calorie-dense vegetarian foods such as whole grain breads and peanut butter. At health food stores you can find shake mixes that are made for people who want to gain weight; see if any of them are vegetarian and low in sugar. Also avoid high fructose corn syrup, it doesn't do you any good. You want to gain weight off of nutritious foods, not sugars! This is another thing you could discuss with the nutritionist, too.

2007-01-24 02:05:25 · answer #5 · answered by TBL 2 · 1 1

There's this mosconception that vegans are ill and that it's dangerous to be one of them. As in any other diet, if you don't get the necesary nutrients and have a balanced diet, of course it'll be dangerous. When I became vegetarian, I lost some weight, but you are losing way too much weight. Maybe you're not eating right. My advice: visit a nutritionist, because of the way you talk you seem like a teenager, and it's really important for you to get the correct ammount of nutrients because you're still growing up

2007-01-23 18:08:00 · answer #6 · answered by Dita 5 · 3 0

make sure you keep up the high protien high B12 stuff like mushrooms , nuts , B12 enriched soy milk, etc : this is very important ! i tried a vege vegan lifestyle for a while & didn't keep an eye on my B 12 & protien , so i got very ill , my brain was hurt for a while from not keeping up the B12 (i'm o.k. now ) so the doctor told me it's good to be a vegetarian but to include lean meat & oily fish 2-3 times a week for " brain oil " . i know we were originally designed to only eat fruit & vege's , but since the fall of creation it's very hard to get B 12 & protien out of plants .
if you still don't like the idea of meat a couple of times a week you may have to take B12 supplements

2007-01-23 14:33:46 · answer #7 · answered by iammoza 3 · 0 0

Yes it is Dangerous, Have you ever heard of the Cow population problem, We have to eat them, What else are we going to do? Play Cribbage with them...nope they don't know how to play. These Bovine creatures are walking steaks and Baseballs. If we let them get the Numbers advantage on us they might start trying to milk us, and then what have of the human can't even be milked. And I'll be damned if I'm going to eat Grass I just had my teeth whitened, Plus where are we going o get Cheese from? Do you think once the cows start running things they are still going to be cool with letting us milk them think again Bean Boy, then you are putting all those poor Farmers In Wisconsin did you ever think about them? How will the buy there little Children Shoe to go to School in towns Like Fond Du Lac and what not? Stop being so selfish and eat some animals. Sheesh.

2007-01-24 07:05:24 · answer #8 · answered by Rocky The Fearless 5 · 1 1

No, but it is not easy to give up "comfort foods" like cheese pizza, egg sandwiches, ice cream (of course there are vegetarian substitutes, but they are expensive and sometimes not as tasty.

You need B12 which comes from meat or meat byproducts, so a multiple vitamin would take care of that.

You don't need as much protein as meat eaters think, they actually are usually eating MORE than they need and the excess calories wind up as fat or are filtered as waste thru the kidneys, creating more work for the kidneys.

Here is a link that tells how much protein you need. It says 0.8gm/kg of body weight.there are 2.2kg/lb

http://web.missouri.edu/~umcoslwrc/vitamins.pdf

2007-01-23 23:57:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1 1

eat beans and rice. being smaller tha a size two isnt unhealthy. my vegetarian brother is smaller than a size 2. im vegan and a size 4. it just depends on how your body is. try building muscle and going to the gym.

2007-01-23 15:52:55 · answer #10 · answered by Sen7City 2 · 0 0

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