To Be Or Not To Be Vegetarian

[Free Spirit]

I am a meat eater.  I have recently (so many times) been drawn to blogs and vid clips about vegetarians.  Is it really bad to eat meat, and if so why?  When ever I do go more than a few days without meat, I feel like I need a good feed, even though I eat plenty of nuts, fruit etc...   Any input???

[Guest]

I recommend veganism. Your chances of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, etc plummet. Fills you up with energy too. Note though, you have to be more clued up than a meat eater about nutrition. For instance, a lot of vegans don't know that you have to eat legumes/ nuts/ seeds with whole grains to get your 'full proteins', one of the reasons why some are pallid and scrawny looking.

Plus, knowing that you aren't involved in the atrocities of industrial farming and are significantly reducing your impact on the environment, are great feelings.

[Anicko]

I don't think there's any one diet meant for everyone. I think we all have the right to choose for ourselves what we like to eat. 

I am an on again/off again vegetarian. I love the animals more than I love the hamburger, ultimately. But depending on where you live, it can be very hard. 

Part of me wants to go full vegan, but, cheese is my soul mate. I do try and buy the most environmentally responsible products I can though. 

Experiment. Explore your own opinions and beliefs on what you eat. Decide what you like best. Live your life. 

[Guest]

I am a lacto- ovo vegetarian since nearly a year now. I eat 7 different type of grains per day. I drink a litre of milk and nearly 10 glasses of water. I eat a lot of vegetables. I like brocoli the most. I haven't lost anything, everything is the same. My energy levels are moderate. I am more calm. But I became more lazy I don't know if this have anything to do with being vegetarian. Maybe I don't have that much energy pump when I need.

[Elena]

Veganism and vegetarianism are great but they are not for everybody. If you are living in a very cold country wich doesnt produce a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits its really hard to be a "good" vegan

[Apothem]

I personally think veganism / vegetarian is the next stage of ethical and moral evolution for our species.

400 years ago society still thought human slavery was cool, 100 years ago women were still not allowed to vote, now recently gay marriage and cannabis use is more accepted.

I'm optimistic that within the next 100 years animal slavery is seen as ridiculous and outlandish as human slavery is today.

[Boss]

Lots of dogma surrounds the vegetarian lifestyle. I would recommend looking at both sides of the story. Read the Vegetarian myth. 

I personally prefer the nutrients in animal products.

[Dhana Choko]

I personally think there is one diet for humans and it is a vegan diet. All cats and dogs eat basically the same type of diet (with some variation of course), so there must be an ideal diet for human race as well. This Western culture has just brain-washed people so deeply that it is very hard for the ego to think anything else but the burger it is addicted to.  

I recommend watching some documentaries. You can just watch them open minded and not make any decisions right now. All change starts small.
- Forks over Knives (about health and no gross details)
- Food inc (How food is produced and marketing and health as well)
- Cowspiracy (about milk production and meat industry)

[Makkatya]

 

@Dhana Choko What is your take on our teeth structure? Why isn't it optimized for eating only vegan, if that is the one diet.

[Dhana Choko]

1 minute ago, Makkatya said:

 

@Dhana Choko What is your take on our teeth structure? Why isn't it optimized for eating only vegan, if that is the one diet.

I recommend finding more information about this subject yourself.  This is a diverse topic and most people have so much resistance, addictions and closed-minded beliefs about their eating (it is one of the hardest things for most people to change cause most people medicate themselves with food so much) that I am not about to use my time to change anyone's beliefs without getting paid for it. It is too labour-intensive and includes so much banging head against the wall and because I do not enjoy pain, I will not do it.  I just recommend sources that you can use if you are actually interested in your health and personal development. Netflix has a lot of good documentaries, for example Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, Cowspiracy, Food inc, Fed Up, GMO OMG and of course beautiful documentaries about our planet, like BBC Planet Earth. 

[Makkatya]

@Dhana Choko I wasn't trying to prove vegan is "bad", I was just curious am I missing something with the teeth thing. Is that a myth/dogma too? 

[Dhana Choko]

1 minute ago, Makkatya said:

@Dhana Choko I wasn't trying to prove vegan is "bad", I was just curious am I missing something with the teeth thing. Is that a myth/dogma too? 

http://freefromharm.org/photo-galleries/9-reasons-your-canine-teeth-dont-make-you-a-meat-eater/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/shattering-the-meat-myth_b_214390.html

Here's something to start with

[Alexxx]

Pescetarianism is also a good choice of a lifestyle/diet.

Some researches claims it is healthier than the vegan and the vegetarian diet.

 

[Rito]

I have been living a vegan life for 3 years and I have witnessed many health benefits.I have tried intermittent fasting along with a vegan diet and here is what I observed:

1)Lost 20 lbs

2)Completely cleared my migraine and brain fog

3)Healthier Skin

4)More Energy

5)Denser Hair

These effects were observed within 3 weeks.

Apart from these there are environmental, ethical issues.Plus the meat consumed is from animals that were medicated and bred artificially and these induce toxins in our body that cause cancer ,diabetes and all the lot.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Rito

[thortho]

On 2/14/2016 at 3:06 PM, Makkatya said:

 

@Dhana Choko What is your take on our teeth structure? Why isn't it optimized for eating only vegan, if that is the one diet.

Our teeth don't really prove anything; there are animals that have pretty vicious-looking teeth that mainly (or exclusively) eat plants. Gorillas spring to mind: Sure, they eat a few insects and caterpillars, but they're mostly plant-eaters (I imagine that what insects they eat are just the ones unfortunate enough to be on the plant when it goes into the mouth). And just look at their teeth!

Our digestive tract, from what I've read, points towards a more plant-based diet, and proper carnivores are capable of consuming a lot more meat in a sitting (relative to body size) than humans; I remember reading that if a human ate meat like a wolf does, then we'd be eating ten to twenty-pound steaks in one go (that's about four to nine kg; a restaurant I know of gives you the meal for free if you manage eating one kg steak within an hour).

However, we human clearly are capable of eating meat; we have people living in very cold climates (e.g. Inuits in Greenland and North America) who were historically nearly completely carnivorous (fish, whale, seal, walrus, various small land mammals, birds and eggs) since the vegetation is fairly sparse. From what I've read, more modern diets (with more carbohydrates) haven't been very pleasant for them (increase in obesity and diabetes, mainly). These are, of course, fairly extreme examples, and the vast majority of humans haven't lived and aren't living in such climates.

From an environmental standpoint, eating meat (and fish and so on) could be considered "better" when people are living in areas where plants don't thrive so well - better eating a locally caught fish than a nice, balanced vegetarian meal where most of the ingredients have to be imported from a long way off, that kind of thinking.

So I don't think the main problem with meat eating is that humans are "made for" a vegan diet; it's rather the whole mess surrounding the meat industry that's the problem.

[Psychonaut]

On 13.2.2016 at 10:35 PM, Stretch said:

I recommend veganism. Your chances of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, etc plummet. Fills you up with energy too. Note though, you have to be more clued up than a meat eater about nutrition. For instance, a lot of vegans don't know that you have to eat legumes/ nuts/ seeds with whole grains to get your 'full proteins', one of the reasons why some are pallid and scrawny looking.

Plus, knowing that you aren't involved in the atrocities of industrial farming and are significantly reducing your impact on the environment, are great feelings.

What are some good books on nutrition? I would like to learn a bit about it as I know very little.

[David]

The fact that the human body is made to digest meat should hopefully lend a clue ?. This is always a subject about good choices, for example if you eat vegetables raised with pesticides and artificial fertilizer you will likely have negative health issues no matter what type of diet you're following. So make good choices and listen to what your body wants. 

[Simon Zackrisson]

No, according to my research, meat in itself isn't bad for you. This is from the biggest studies conducted by science that is up to date. 

It doesn't really matter about studies though, you will always find different results based on what you want to find. I think simple logic works wonders in this case. We were hunter-gatherers for millions of years.

 

In this thread we talk about a tribute to the diet we ate for millions of years: LCHF.

[gian]

as a vegan, i do not feel that occasional consumption of high quality animals products is "bad" for you in a sense that it will negatively (and drastically) affect your health if consumed on rare occasions. but, aside from health reasons, i still do not consume animal products based on ethical and environmental factors. 

i feel that if one lives in an environment that makes a vegan lifestyle possible, (I currently live in the US) then one should strongly consider it.

as for extreme theoretical examples i have heard such things like "eskimos would not do well on a vegan diet based on their genetics, environment, and lifestyle..." that makes perfect sense. and i do understand that everyone has different genetics/enzyme balances that can be based on a multitude of factors....but with the overwhelming evidence suggesting that the optimal diet for humans is a vegan diet, it should be strongly considered/tried by everyone once presented with said evidence IMO (granted it is feasible in one's current environment)

Edited February 20, 2016 by gian
add info

[Dhana Choko]

13 hours ago, David said:

The fact that the human body is made to digest meat should hopefully lend a clue ?. 

Can you back up this claim? To my knowledge and research, our teeth and stomach acidity and intestines are not similar to pure carnivores and human babies (or adults) are usually unwilling to eat big chunks of raw meat.