I am already a vegatarian and am seriously considering becoming a vegan. What do you guys think what health risks should I consider before going forward? I would like to hear some veiw points from you all. Cheers, Lucy
do you drink soymilk??? that would be a fantastic and delicious step into veganism, and a very easy one. other than that its just a matter of choosing different things, like if you eat crackers or something with eggs in them, you just have to find a different brand of them, thats all. or like instead of making a cheese sandwhich, just grab a handfull of peanuts instead, its really very easy and no where near as hard as people make it out to be. their really arent any health risks unless you are predisposed for some medical condition, in which case it would still be pretty simple probably to base your diet around non-animal foods. the only thing you could possibly be missing that would cause anything serious i imagine is vitamin b-12, which is said to form naturally in a vegetarian stomach from bacteria, plus its in like every vegetarian product(inlcuding soymilk) in synthetic form and i probably get too much of it. vegans tend to be way healthier than vegetarians and especially meat eaters because they are very conscious of what they put into their body, most of them anyway, i still see vegans that pig out on vegan cookies and fake chicken etc. all the time without giving it a thought but thats their choice, and their loss sordove. some good sources of amino acids(protein, which recieves way more attention than it deserves) are hemp nut(complete protein,along with the most balanced form known of omega essential fatty acids which do a world of good inside the body and promote a very healthy nervous system and heart) , most soy foods including soymilk,peanuts, and quinoa(rice-likegrain) is another good one. if you eat food though, your probably getting more than suffecient protein. being vegan really doesnt require a huge sacrafice, its all really very simple and just a simple matter of chosing to eat different stuff, and youll find just about every imitation product is probably tastier and has every vitamin and nutrient you need in it. and try to eat organic versions of everything you eat when possible, for obvious health reasons... especially if its a non-already vegan product since most vegan products usually have a lot of organic ingredients in them ... if your really worried about maintaining health you could always just take a vitamin every week, or just learn about it, or even talk to a 'doctor' ..but if you have any other questions at all feel free to ask, me or somebody else here can probably answer them for you, good luck! : )
ahh thanks that has eased my mind a great deal and made everything look simpler. I will come back if I have any other queries.
Lucy, Before going vegan, I think the most important thing you have to think about is how motivated you are to do it. And why. Your personal quest is the most important aspect of changing your diet/lifestyle... it gives it meaning, and makes it simpler to go about it. Secondly, RESEARCH is more important than anything. Jumping into a vegan diet without knowing much about it, will most likely just lead to relapses of eating animal products again. If you're unsure what's available to you, where it's available, and what you need to stay healthy...it makes it that much harder to go vegan, and STAY vegan. I went vegan a few years ago, with knowing almost nothing about it... and eventually slipped up and went back to the vegetarian diet. Just about 4 months ago, I decided to go vegan again, because now I had more knowledge on the subject...and this time around, it seems SO easy because of that. First of all... I would suggest looking on the internet and such to discover what products are out there for you to eat, and which ones you would be interested in trying. After that, do some "vegan food hunting" around your area... go to local grocery stores or health food stores, and take a look at what they supply. If you can't find what you're looking for, usually most stores are helpful, and if you request an order of say.. "vegan chicken patties by so and so a company" they'll do it for you. [I'm not sure what the situation is in England, but they do that around here anyway] Listen to your body, but not directly. I learned that if I begin craving a "cheese enchilada" or the like... I supply my body with the nutrients I get from that food, I no longer crave it... I'll find a vegan cheese replacer, or something else that's a calcium and/or protein provider, and the craving will subside. Your body talks to you, and makes you crave certain things when you're lacking something you need from that food. I'm not one for supplements, but I suppose for some people they may help out a great deal... so if you're interested in that, do some research regarding supplements. Maybe, go talk to a health store clerk and ask what they would recommend for you being that you're vegan. Or if instead of supplements, they have any recommendations on certain foods. There's a great deal of foods and drink that are enriched with calcium and such... A lot of orange juices now have calcium added to them. Soy milk does too, plus protein... and that way you can still munch on cereal and other foods that require milk. My favorite brand of soy milk is Silk. I started drinking the vanilla flavored, because in the beginning my taste buds were not yet accustomed to the thickness and bland flavor of soy milk. I really believe going vegan just takes some adaptation. You begin to acquire a taste for things you maybe never liked in the past. I used to hate broccoli, and now I could eat it all day. If you're going to try mock foods, I have a tip. If you try something that's disgusting, don't give up there. Every brand is different... some are excellent, and some suck royally. Some have different textures, and different flavors. The first brand of soy cheese I tried literally made me gag... but, I kept experimenting with different brands of soy cheese, and I found one that I really like...I like it better than real cheese actually. One thing about being vegan, is you have to be up front. If you go to a restaurant or something, dont be afraid to ask if something is vegan, or if they can leave something out of the dish ...etc. Don't be afraid to ask stores to order a certain product...and well, you get the picture. Every person is different, but I find the thing that most helps anyone making this transition is a great deal of research, motivation, and experimentation. If you're not one to experiment with your taste buds... that could be a big down fall.
wow you guys helped me out too(y).... i'm vegan now and its kinda difficult changing into that new diet.. but i can do it I done it b4.. lol
yeah like apples and oranges said, you just have to remember why your doing it and why its so important. another thing that really helps is shopping at a health food, natural food, or whole food store instead of a grocery store. grocery stores are like big institutions dedicated to trapping you and preying on your desire and the tape worm they tell you that you have inside your stomach so they can make a buck, if that makes any sense. hardly any of the stuff is what i would call real food though, and plus its more work to find out what conventional foods are vegan, where as all the food in a health food store tend to be blatantly vegan, relatively good for you, and usually eco-friendly and organic. the companies are not based around greed and probably support some really good cause. it just feels better to support these companies instead of say nabisco or something, regardless if they have vegan stuff or not, for me personally, i just really like it.
