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Healthy Diet Programs for Vegan

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1 star (1)		50%

Mark (Newton Abbot, Devon, UK) on 01/31/2013:
1 out of 5 stars

Warning

Be very careful on a vegan / vegetarian diet they may appear to be healthy and the answer to all health problems but a sinister reality lurks below the surface, my wife has been a strict healthy eating vegetarian for 20 years and a vegan for 10 she would not eat anything processed or non-organic , although she still manages to weight train and exercises daily she is now very poorly, she has been diagnosed with a vitamin B12 deficiency that almost crippled her, she still suffers badly with very painful burning hands, feet and face, her energy is often non-existent, her cognitive function is impaired slightly and she has joint and muscle pains throughout her body, for the past year or so she has been supplementing with high strength B12 tabs that have increased her B12 levels but it seems the damage done is severe (nerve damage) and may take many years to rectify, if it ever does, she has tried to eat meat again but after so long without it she can no longer tolerate more than a small forkful a day, any more makes her nauseous, probably due to a lack of enzymes and specific bacteria to digest it.

Mine and her advice now would be to try to eat some meat every now and then or supplement permanently with a good B12, once the damage is done it's not easy to repair it, as a long term non meat eater her bodily B12 stores finally ran low and now this is the result, B 12 is only found in animal sources and is vital for life, the body cannot produce its own supply, surely this is enough evidence to determine that we are supposed to be eating some meat now and then, put another way all vegans and vegetarians would be seriously ill or dead before 50 if manufactures did not fortify various grain and cereals or manufacture a B12 supplement, we humans even have some meat eating teeth just to prove the point. Whatever you do make sure to get plenty of B12 by any means possible otherwise you will run out of B12 eventually.

Stephanie (Napa, Ca) on 10/28/2011:
5 out of 5 stars

I tried every diet in the world and that 15 lbs keeps going off and coming back with a vengeance. I finally went vegan after much fear of missing meat and cheese (dairy products) three weeks ago and I have lost 15 pounds... I really wasn't expecting that. I did eat quite a lot of cheese on my previous diet so that's possibly the biggest reason for the drop in fat (animal fat), but I feel so much better too. I keep getting compliments on my skin, which has become noticeably more clear and smooth and my dark circles have pretty much vanished.

I watched the documentary 'Earthlings'; which you can find to watch on youtube for free; and it really opened my eyes to the fact that we are not meant to consume tortured animals. The imagery and information is so powerful it became easy to stop eating meat and dairy immediately(there are great substitutes for everything if you really miss something), and now I can't see myself ever eating dairy again. I don't even miss eggs! I drink green smoothies every morning with a whole banana, frozen pineapple chunks and a handful of spinach and it tastes amazing! I also take a magnesium taurate supplement to take the edge off and help me sleep. I only wish I'd made this decision sooner, not only because I can now look forward to turning 40 and be the only one of my friends who hasn't gained weight, but because I know I'm doing my part to help end needless, insane animal suffering - which is more horrific than anyone realizes. It's TRUE that if slaughter houses had glass walls, no one would ever dream of eating meat. Also read "Skinny Bit--", completely inspiring if you have a lot of weight to lose and shows just how animal fat is slowing you and your metabolism down!

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