Gone vegan

[Pvapour]

Anyone else?

Been a week for me, far tastier and far more energy so far, also better cognitive ability (memory, focus, interest etc)

My main reason was looking into calcium build up within my arteries and a subsequent slowing in general of all my bodies -erformances over the last 4 years, then watching game changers and thinking what the hell, give it a go..

Wife is doing it also and shes getting the same results after initially feeling like st (both of us)

I need 200+ g of protein a day so thats my biggest chalenge, or thought it would be, but the taste and texture of the dressed tofu etc is fantastic and i’ll happily gorge on it straight from packet, huge choice here in france to, coco rice milk is awesome as is coco cream in yoghurt substitute, Loving the protein except tempre, 1st vegan protein from decathlon is ok but will look for others..

Even restaurants vegan meals are tastier than the normal meat based ones here, no compromise so far, loving it more, really enjoying my food again.

[Phil.]

In my 4th year of eating a plant-based diet and am feeling healthy. Also feeling good about the decisions I am making not harming animals, helping the planet, and doing what I can to increase my healthy life span.

Things have improved massively in the past couple of years in terms of vegan eating options. I’m also pleased that some high profile ‘stars’ have decided to take up the lifestyle, including some highly successful sports people.

Ultimately, having done the research you can’t undo what you now know and believe to be healthy and ethical. Therefore it’s a permanent way of life for me.

BTW Careful calling yourself vegan because people who feel threatened will pick on everything to conserve their beliefs, especially the likes of leather belts/shoes/car seats etc. I tend to stick with explaining I follow a vegan diet and strive to be vegan in the rest of my life. It’s almost impossible to fulfill all the criteria to be vegan all of the time.

PS Wait for the preaching complaints from the nay sayers.

[gregs656]

Im keen to see game changers.

There has been a sea change in the variety, quality and availability of meat free alternatives Im sure many more people will make the change.

[Shuvi McTupya]

I am not vegan or even remotely vegetarian but recently i have bought a few vegan products just to see how they taste and i admit they are not bad at all.

Got some 'sausages' the other week and added them to a stew type affair as extra 'meat' and wouldn't have minded if there was no real meat in there.

But i do love meat..

[gregs656]

Got The Game Changers on now.

[Emanresu]

How do you know is someone is a vegan?

They will tell you every 5 seconds.

I don’t eat meat. Must be 15 years since I tasted it. I gave up eating meat for my health. I had problems with my heart and cholesterol level.

Most of the vegans I have met have been toxic. Oooo you’re wearing shoes made from a dead cow. Ooooo your jacket is made from a dead animal. bh I bought these shoes 20 years ago. My leather jacket is from 1985. But you just keep buying your plastic stuff and killing all the fishes.

[gregs656]

As this is health matters shall we keep it to health?

[Black can man]

I have no problems with Vegan's or vegetarians , Each to their own i say.

But why do they have to keep telling us & posting pictures of what they are eating & how amazingly great everything tastes ?

Much kudos to the OP all the same.

[Pvapour]

Yeh, to say im vegan is misleading.

i am on the whole eating a plant based diet whenever possible... i am in no way dedicated to never eating meat or dairy products ever again, if the situation arose where there was animal based or nothing at all then id eat meat, but tbh honest there are so many restaurants and food options with vegan or vegetarian that taste great then i doubt those times will arise much whilst at home, holidays? Maybe more so..

I love my ice cream and chinese cooking though, hagen daz have done a vegan alternative this year and so have ben and jerry, b&j chunky monkey was not so good, apparently their peanut butter one is fantastic tho (yet to try) the hagen daz one os meant to be incredible.

I have never met a preaching vegan and never likely to tbh, each to their own and their beliefs, id just walk away though as im like that, dont give a st if theyre offended at the way ive decided to eat, if they have a brain the should be happy that anyone has decided to eat their way even if they are wearing leather bondage as they do it

Im so surprised at how much is available mind, we have virtually a whole supermarket dedicated to it here, always just driven past not knowing what it was, a whole new world awaits..

I dont have friends though, maybe i am vegan

[bigpriest]

Been vegan for a while now, I've noticed no difference at all in health, fitness or cognitive ability compared to when I ate meat. That's probably because I am human and can survive on a variety of different food sources with no detrimental affect to my body. My conscience feels better and that was my main motivation.

[Nerdherder]

Couple of my friends who happen to be vegan are great cooks, so love to eat at their places or join them at vegan restaurants.
I respect everyone's dietary needs and wishes if they eat at my place.
I'm not particularly interested to go vegan or vegetarian but no one is preaching on me unless actively asked about it.

If people want are fussed about the subject so be it.
I'm not particularly bothered by it.

[Pvapour]

bigpriest said:

Been vegan for a while now, I've noticed no difference at all in health, fitness or cognitive ability compared to when I ate meat. That's probably because I am human and can survive on a variety of different food sources with no detrimental affect to my body. My conscience feels better and that was my main motivation.

I do wander if 35 years of 220g a day of animal protein makes a difference though..

[gregs656]

Just finished The Game Changers.

When I think about most of what I eat, large batch chilli and stuff like that it would not be difficult to switch to plant based alternatives.

The two biggest points for me were the blood response and the inflammation response which are linked.

Worth watching for sure.

[Phil.]

I’ve not seen Game Changers yet because it’s not due out in the UK until the 16th Oct on Netflix. Only a couple of days to go.

Cell-based inflammation is one of the main reasons I took up a plant based diet and it’s not just caused by meat.

Cows milk (ignoring all the other nasty stuff it contains) is designed to produce cells on a massive scale to grow a calf in to a cow inside 12 months. If you are prone to, or have, cancer the last thing I would be drinking or eating is dairy of any kind. It’s just the same for cheese, whatever form the milk is consumed in.

I’ve also seen links between eggs (that are also cell producers) and prostate cancer.

I don’t have all the references to hand because it was some years ago when I looked in to this subject and I didn’t keep records. But I’m sure it’s still available with a bit of a search.

[gregs656]

Yes they talk about dairy as well as meat.

[RTB]

Phil. said:

Cows milk (ignoring all the other nasty stuff it contains) is designed to produce cells on a massive scale to grow a calf in to a cow inside 12 months. If you are prone to, or have, cancer the last thing I would be drinking or eating is dairy of any kind. It’s just the same for cheese, whatever form the milk is consumed in.

I’ve also seen links between eggs (that are also cell producers) and prostate cancer.

I don’t have all the references to hand because it was some years ago when I looked in to this subject and I didn’t keep records. But I’m sure it’s still available with a bit of a search.

Having worked in cancer research for the last 20 years and having a PhD in cell biology I've never come across any credible data to suggest dairy or eggs increases the risk of cancer. There were some studies suggesting excessive consumption may slightly increase the risk of prostate cancer, but the link is tenuous. There were also studies suggesting that dairy is protective against colorectal cancer. But again I wouldn't put much store in it.

If you're genetically prone to cancer then staying away from milk and eggs isn't going to make any difference. Compared to some of the carcinogens we encounter every day milk isn't very near the top of the list (it isn't even on the list). In fact the majority of carcinogens we encounter (ignoring UV from the sun) come from air pollution. Mostly from burning hydrocarbons. You'd do better avoiding cars than avoiding milk or eggs.

[bigpriest]

Pvapour said:

I do wander if 35 years of 220g a day of animal protein makes a difference though..

It's not just protein though - it contains all the vitamins and nutrients and growth hormones pumped into the animals

[mikeiow]

RTB said:

Having worked in cancer research for the last 20 years and having a PhD in cell biology I've never come across any credible data to suggest dairy or eggs increases the risk of cancer. There were some studies suggesting excessive consumption may slightly increase the risk of prostate cancer, but the link is tenuous. There were also studies suggesting that dairy is protective against colorectal cancer. But again I wouldn't put much store in it.

If you're genetically prone to cancer then staying away from milk and eggs isn't going to make any difference. Compared to some of the carcinogens we encounter every day milk isn't very near the top of the list (it isn't even on the list). In fact the majority of carcinogens we encounter (ignoring UV from the sun) come from air pollution. Mostly from burning hydrocarbons. You'd do better avoiding cars than avoiding milk or eggs.

I’m slightly happier to read this: I love eggs and cheese! Pretty sure I would struggle to go vegan...

That said, my son is veggie, and a great cook, so whilst he is home we tend to mostly not eat meat.
He lived in Lyon for a year & struggled on a student budget (Lyon is the meat capital of France, of course).....and even driving up or down we found astonishingly little at motorway services there for him! Your area must be better, OP! That said, we did find some delicious veggie restaurants in Lyon, just a little higher priced for a student when we weren’t there!

We have shifted to oat milk for cereal (& barista edition makes nice coffee too), but still prefer cow juice for tea here....but yes, we make big use of quorn and paneer for meals here. Not sure our son exhibits or exudes a picture of health, and recently he even wondered whether he should go back to eating fish for protein....

[gregs656]

Something missing from game Changers was a look at low quality veggie diets.

I know some vegans and veggies who eat very well, and some who eat complete crap. One, life long, vegetarian friend of mine who I’ve known for a decade and now works shifts eats absolute crap constantly. I wouldn’t trade my diet for his.

[hotchy]

Pvapour said:

bigpriest said:

Been vegan for a while now, I've noticed no difference at all in health, fitness or cognitive ability compared to when I ate meat. That's probably because I am human and can survive on a variety of different food sources with no detrimental affect to my body. My conscience feels better and that was my main motivation.

I do wander if 35 years of 220g a day of animal protein makes a difference though..

Well considering the age of my grandparents, avid meat eaters, I'd say it's very good for you. Ifcourse the latest fad monkeys will try force their vegan beliefs on you and how that's better. Iv never had the privalige to talk to a 90 year old vegan. Wonder why.