Is Vegetarianism the Way to Go?

melagras

Cathlete
Anyone out there a true vegetarian? I toyed with it last year and ended up quitting. Not sure why I quit. Maybe from boredom. I wasn't sure if I was getting the right balance of protein and carbs. It did seem like I was eating more.

Right now, I am following a paleo diet but I feel bloated. Am I consuming too much protein?

Is following a vegetarian lifestyle the way to go? It definitely is cheaper.

Any thoughts?
 
Hey, I've been an ovo-vegetarian for over 15 yrs now. Not sure how 'true' a vegetarian this is. I am also a consumer of animal products as I have to feed my cat. So not a pure vegetarian by any means. I follow (sometimes rather loosely) TCM/seasonal food recommendations as well as part of my 'eating lifestyle'.
Becoming vegetarian forced me to learn how to cook which I am thankful for. I very much enjoy food and cooking now! It also helped me to pay far closer attention to nutritional needs in general. I supplement with DHA as veg diets (with the exception of Japanese ones - sea algae) do not get enough about 2 times per week. I also add nutritional yeast for B12 from time to time. If I am feeling low, I will eat or take dandelion supplement for iron. However, my iron has been very good.
Everyone's needs are different (plus they change) & sticking with something, IMHO, will only happen if you aren't feeling deprived and it's a sustainable choice for you. I do very much enjoy the food that I eat & I feel like it is nourishing for me. Also, not consuming something that has suffered (or contributes greatly to global food shortages ie. hyperconsumption of cattle) is nourishing to my soul. I know that is not how the majority feels & I am not preaching it, just sharing my own motivations.
What are your goals with your diet? I am not all that familiar with Paleo only that it resembles Atkins, which to my knowledge, is too low in fiber for most women and therefore can cause constipation & bloating.
FYI ....the first few weeks of vegetarianism are quite farty. For me, vegetarianism has been excellent for managing blood-sugar levels which were all over the place before. I would not advise going into it with hopes of losing weight, though. Like anything, this will just happen with a calorie deficit.
 
Hi Elsie


I took the post down in case I get a lot of cite your sources people or offend anyone.

Not my intention it was merely an observation. Yes a lot of things do play into it like you said.

Genes,family history, co morbidities, race and life style, clarified butter...




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Melagras, can i ask why you feel the need to change your diet? Is it for weight loss or general health? You seem to have chosen two styles of eating that are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Personally I prefer not to cook something that has more than 5 ingredients or I get anxious lol! So i stick to anything "clean" as opposed to a specific "diet" and find it much easier. Cutting down on sugar/ processed foods made a huge difference in how I feel and certainly helped with losing a few pounds. I'm also sensitive to gluten but again try to avoid all those gluten free snacks in the stores because they tend to be full of sugar and fat etc to improve taste.
 
Hey Cupcake, I get what you mean. Sometimes when I try to discuss anecdotal things regarding my past occupation & current volunteering in mental health, people sometimes get up in arms as it is an under researched and obviously, emotional subject (for example I have painfully watched young people who smoke marijuana heavily experience psychotic episodes and then be stuck with the manageable but very bloody tough disease of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder for the rest of their lives. It's heart wrenching for the families, but many pot advocates just don't get it. Plus the stages of research here are very early. I am not even against de-criminalization, but I feel strongly that it has to be legalized and controlled very carefully).
I was just genuinely curious about your experience as a clinician. I know some veg foods are NOT healthy at all (have you ever read the nutritional info for an A&W Veggie Burger? It's a processed sodium party.....). Anyway, I was not offended at all by your post ,but I completely get your not wanting to endlessly defend your anecdotal experiences. :)

Back to topic at hand ....... sorry for possible h/j.
 
I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian (eating eggs & minimal dairy) for about 22 years. I'm 51 now & I think that it has been the right choice for me. I was never much of a red meat eater and after reading a lot of holistic material that advised against red meat, it was easy for me to drop it without missing it. After I quit eating red meat, I found that the texture of chicken & other meats really bothered me, so I dropped those as well. I feel great, & my blood work is always good. My father & brother both had heart attacks at early ages, so that is another incentive for me to keep my eating healthy.
 
Melagras, can i ask why you feel the need to change your diet? Is it for weight loss or general health? You seem to have chosen two styles of eating that are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Personally I prefer not to cook something that has more than 5 ingredients or I get anxious lol! So i stick to anything "clean" as opposed to a specific "diet" and find it much easier. Cutting down on sugar/ processed foods made a huge difference in how I feel and certainly helped with losing a few pounds. I'm also sensitive to gluten but again try to avoid all those gluten free snacks in the stores because they tend to be full of sugar and fat etc to improve taste.

I like to try different foods. I bore easily.

I do stick to a clean diet six days of the week. Like you say, no more than five ingredients. I shop around the perimeter of the grocery store. I've cut way down on eating sweets but I refuse to give up my wine.

After posting this question, I did some research about the multi-vitamin/probiotic combo I'm taking and found that probiotics can cause bloating. I have cut the dose in half today and noticed a difference.
 
Even though we inherit specific genetic material from both parents (that's why we look like them physically) I want to believe inheriting a specific disease is not a sure thing. Genes (DNA) can be turned on and off, through certain triggers and the discussion recently behind the chalkboard is that cancer is not inherited, its a mutation. We all have cancer organelles in our body, kept in check by our most complicated and wonderful system of balance. Finding out what turns them on and off is the million dollar question. Personally, I believe it begins with stress and then inflammation. Inflammation is the root cause and the gut is mostly where any of this begins.

I also agree with what Elsie wrote about Pot. Currently though, there is quite a bit of proof that certain components in marijuana are beneficial for Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders, not to mention people that cannot keep any food down. I've seen the schizophrenia that Elsie writes about from smoking in my own extended family. A SIL who smoked constantly, so did her husband, in their teens (so maybe that's the key to it, it alters gene expression in healthy people if you smoke too much early on). She is now permanently in a mental institute. I believe she is 55.

Getting back to food... Mostly I am Paleo.

I don't care for the big cuts of meat, or even chicken/turkey, but I really love burgers. However, the beef has to be 100% grass fed and humanely reared and more importantly, humanely put down. I buy from a farmer's group at a local co-op store. Same with wild-caught fish.

I use ghee, organic butter, coconut oil, beef tallow, advocado and olive oils to cook with. I really think that we have screwed ourselves by eating fat-free.

And what Jamie said...I get crazy if the recipe has more then a handful of ingredients.

I pretty much have 3 eggs a day, again being farmer's eggs (free-range and organic), to that I add one tablespoon of turmeric, some ground pepper, ginger and buttermilk.

Same with milk, has to be cream top right from the cow, no fiddling with homogenizing.

Anything that's organic in-season produce and especially tons of berries, moderate on cherries, bananas, pineapple (now that's a good one for digestive needs).

I do think active women have to have more carbs though. I can't do well riding without my oatmeal beforehand. Tried to do the all fat, ketone training route and I would peter-out mid ride.

Instead of pro-biotics , maybe look into prebiotics for the gut. Your gut microbiome has to be fed too and that's done very well with resistant starch. I use Wedo Banana flour (gluten free) and then there is Bobs Red Mill Potato Starch. You don't need that much to begin with, even a teaspoon is enough in yogurt or a smoothie. Look at it as feeding the workers bees in the gut. I'm not against probiotics, but you can get a lot of that from certain foods, especially sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, etc.
 
Very informative post DirtDiva! Yes, I also see marijuana helping people especially with wasting disorders and I do not see it as all bad. I was taking it in tincture form as part of a Cramp formula a local herbalist made up for me. It works. But because I am predisposed to anxiety, I later decided against it.
And hey, a fellow Cathlete who puts turmeric in their eggs!! ;)
 

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