Vegetarianism - Good or bad

Originally posted by seentoomuch
reply to post by Zerra

 

I thought that regular un-aged tofu has been found to cause cancer. Aren't people supposed to eat fermented tofu and not the regular stuff on the shelves such as soy milk and the regular cooking tofu? Linda McCartney comes to mind if you are proposing just good ol' soy is good for you.

STM

Soy and tofu are options. I haven't personally eaten any tofu in my time as a vegetarian. Mind you, I did once when it was cooked for me by a friend who made an awesome wrap out of it. Tasted great, but other than that day, I don't eat it. Most things are said to cause cancer but no, I wouldn't recommend making a meal plan that contained soy/tofu every day. There are different options to keep vegetarians from being bored of their food choice. Just take a look at how easy it is to get 20 grams of protein just at breakfast time-in my other post. That is half of your daily intake needs on average- Though may change with body weight and physical activity.

Yes, at least half of the books were vegan, so you could be right about your version not being so harmful. But, I have never had dark circles under my eyes, not once, and I'm an imsomniac. Being 49 you would think I would have had them at some point but I haven't.

The method I use for my diet is to go to a good market or in my garden depending on the season and just stand there and look around.
When I see a vegetable I just have to have I know my body must need it. The same follows for meat/fish. Also I have at least an egg a day. I figure my body will let me know what it needs, no more, no less, I don't go overboard on anything. I don't know what this method is called, if there is a named method for it but it seems to work. Hope this makes sense to y'all, it's late.

STM

reply to post by Zerra


I didn't on purpose but, did eat apples and oranges a bit. I cannot eat tofu=soy. I am highly allergic to it. That was the problem. When going to restaurants with friends and such nearly all the vegetarian meals had soy or just a house salad. It got to the point where I hated going out because it was sheer terror thinking about choking down another tasteless lettuce leaf.

A lot of recipes centered around soy as well. I also got a lot of recommendations on, "Hey try this product if you can't have soy!" When I would read the ingredients the top one was still soy. Why does vegetarian diet seem to revolve around soy?

I should add that I eat very small portions of meat, sort of the European way of meat being a small part of the meal.

The cookbook I purchased was for one of my sisters, the one who used to glom down steak tartare and then suddenly the announcement of her change of diet. I was concerned she would go directly to the extreme vegan and so I headed on down to Whole Foods to find her a balanced cookbook.

STM

Originally posted by seentoomuch
Yes, at least half of the books were vegan, so you could be right about your version not being so harmful. But, I have never had dark circles under my eyes, not once, and I'm an imsomniac. Being 49 you would think I would have had them at some point but I haven't.

The method I use for my diet is to go to a good market or in my garden depending on the season and just stand there and look around.
When I see a vegetable I just have to have I know my body must need it. The same follows for meat/fish. Also I have at least an egg a day. I figure my body will let me know what it needs, no more, no less, I don't go overboard on anything. I don't know what this method is called, if there is a named method for it but it seems to work. Hope this makes sense to y'all, it's late.

STM

Most people I know get darkened eyes due to lack of sleep or stress- I am in a high populated student environment lol-And most eat meat too- but have very tired looksand dark eyes during exam month lol. I think some people are genetically predisposed to have some skin benifits- For example, I don't get pimples and people hate me for that LOL. I am unsure if there is a correlation between diet and darkened eyes. I would have to research that. I am only aware of stress , lack of sleep, and maybe a punch lol. Perhaps you get plenty of sleep and are not bothered by obstacles in your path-How you solve problems in your daily life can also contribute to health. Don't get me wrong, I don't have darkened eyes to some extreme -like black and all the time. Mostly when it is time for exams and I can't sleep, and it's very faint.
My friend who eats meat, does not ever sleep and their eyes are very black.


agree about the body telling us what it wants. I believe this on a nutritional level and an emotional one. (Constant Cravings by psychologist and medium Doreen Virtue discusses what a food craving could mean to you emotionally- ex: emotional eating etc..).
Though consider that if you never had a banana before or just didn't eat them ever- Your body at some point may want to tell you it needs potassium and will give you a craving for a food that you do eat that contains the nutrient...while never craving the banana...So what I mean is, I don't eat meat but when i crave protein I get a craving for eggs or milk or nuts..stuff I do eat. I wouldn't feel that my body dictates what diet I should be on, only what nutrients I may need and it will of course cater to my chosen lifestyle or what I am used to. Soduring my first year as a veg I would definitely crave meatballs and hamburgers LOL...it took a while for the craving to change its course.

Originally posted by toochaos4u
reply to post by Zerra

 

I didn't on purpose but, did eat apples and oranges a bit. I cannot eat tofu=soy. I am highly allergic to it. That was the problem. When going to restaurants with friends and such nearly all the vegetarian meals had soy or just a house salad. It got to the point where I hated going out because it was sheer terror thinking about choking down another tasteless lettuce leaf.

A lot of recipes centered around soy as well. I also got a lot of recommendations on, "Hey try this product if you can't have soy!" When I would read the ingredients the top one was still soy. Why does vegetarian diet seem to revolve around soy?




I agree, I even see it in the weirdest of products..It seems to be in a lot of baked goods as well.
I too have problems going out to eat, so I do so rarely. I usually only like Subway for a vege sub and if I MUST eat out I will order pasta- tomatoe sauce or rose sauce with veges on the side or a salad.We defintely don't need soy or tofu in our meals but soy is hard to get away from in general, even for a meat eating person.

Okay, I give you the benefit of the doubt on the dark circles under the eyes, but you really should go check out the "experts" photos on their books, lol, some were way beyond the norm, and again, most were the fanatical vegans.

As for emotional cravings, well, you're talking to someone that doesn't crave fast foods at all, I wasn't raised on them, not even sodas. Our big treat was when our mother would make a batch of peanut butter fudge once a week or a cake, all divided between six people. Sooooo I tend to get emotional over a big bowl of sweet peas or a roasted sweet potato, butter beans, wild rice, or blackberries or asparagus. My absolute favorite treat is a small scoop of honeycomb on a slice of 12 grain bread with, on occasion, a small spoon of blackberry jam on top. But I can see your point that the current generation would crave McDonalds which just wasn't close by when I was a kid.

I applaud your effort to clarify and further the understanding of the perfect diet, which I still don't totally agree with you on, but I'm a bit closer. I wish you my best,

Stepping out of the thread now, gotta go,

STM

Originally posted by seentoomuch
Okay, I give you the benefit of the doubt on the dark circles under the eyes, but you really should go check out the "experts" photos on their books, lol, some were way beyond the norm, and again, most were the fanatical vegans.

As for emotional cravings, well, you're talking to someone that doesn't crave fast foods at all, I wasn't raised on them, not even sodas. Our big treat was when our mother would make a batch of peanut butter fudge once a week or a cake, all divided between six people. Sooooo I tend to get emotional over a big bowl of sweet peas or a roasted sweet potato, butter beans, wild rice, or blackberries or asparagus. My absolute favorite treat is a small scoop of honeycomb on a slice of 12 grain bread with, on occasion, a small spoon of blackberry jam on top. But I can see your point that the current generation would crave McDonalds which just wasn't close by when I was a kid.

I applaud your effort to clarify and further the understanding of the perfect diet, which I still don't totally agree with you on, but I'm a bit closer. I wish you my best,

Stepping out of the thread now, gotta go,

STM

Yes, I can't say anything on vegans I do not know enough about them. Though I am unsure where you took me for saying fast foods? Emotional cravings can be for anything from a potatoe to honey and the book covers all sorts of foods and snacks. We are social animals and very emotional, it would be stretching it to say that we eat only when hungry or in need-Especially at gatherings where the bonding experience is focused with food and drink. I am not saying that you eat for an emotional reason, but that it is likely it happens to us all at some point. One month I had a weird craving for honey and the books suggestion on what I needed on a spiritual or emotional level seemed fitting as well as its nutrition. Though I am one to believe the physical(like nutrition) and the spiritual can be linked. By no means is the book scientific or proven, but you are right in that society is around a lot of fast and junky foods now, so eating just for health is not seen much lol. enjoy your day =D

Im an athlete and weight is importiant so i had to learn a lot about what the body needs to stay healthy and be able to keep going. There are no real physical "pros and cons" to being a vegetarian, vegan or omnivore. Both sides realy just introduce made up facts about the other side like one is more healthy than the other. The only thing the vegetarians can say without a doubt that no animals will die because of their choice in food but that is about as far as the good side to being a vegetarian goes. If you are looking to be more healthy just eat better, remember vegetarians can still eat candy,soda and ice cream.
All i got to say for anyone that is planning to become a vegetarian or vegan read up and make sure you know what you are doing.

Originally posted by zaiger
Im an athlete and weight is importiant so i had to learn a lot about what the body needs to stay healthy and be able to keep going. There are no real physical "pros and cons" to being a vegetarian, vegan or omnivore. Both sides realy just introduce made up facts about the other side like one is more healthy than the other. The only thing the vegetarians can say without a doubt that no animals will die because of their choice in food but that is about as far as the good side to being a vegetarian goes. If you are looking to be more healthy just eat better, remember vegetarians can still eat candy,soda and ice cream.
All i got to say for anyone that is planning to become a vegetarian or vegan read up and make sure you know what you are doing.

That isn't entirely true. There are many real factual advantages to becoming vegetarian. That being said, there is no need for extremists that is for sure. ( Extremists being one side always attacking the other side-whether it is a meat eating person or a vegetarian). Attacks on either side only show we are not comfortable with our choice in diet and feel a need to justify it further by pulling the other side down. Not really necessary.




There are many athletic vegetarians. Good for them, they did it. If you don't want to, it's no problem. There are also many body builders who are vegetarian-It is quite awesome.


www.vegetarianbodybuilder.com... a body builder discusses his life and how he eats-There is a link to his diet and how he exercises.


It's always a personal choice.

reply to post by Zerra


Just currious what are these real advantages to becoming a vegetarian?

Originally posted by zaiger
reply to post by Zerra

 

Just currious what are these real advantages to becoming a vegetarian?

Areyou genuinely asking or are you merely going to try and attack the points made ?? I don't personally feel that a meat diet has to be unhealthy if done correctly but I also believe there are benifits to a vegetarian diet as well. If you sincerely want to learn I will provide more information, but I would rather avoid attacks or strong extreme debates for either side.

[edit on 18-2-2010 by Zerra]

I think the whole " I am a healthy vegetarian " opinion is invalid until you are over 40. Especially those about 20 and idealistic who could basically live on anything and still be considered healthy. I think I lived on a really bad diet between the ages of 20-30 and still looked really lean and strong. So vegetarians please do not confuse "youth" with "healthy".

The fact is is after about 35 your body really does starts to show up weaknesses in your diet.

I have yet to see a healthy looking 50 yr old vegetarian. They are always skinny, gaunt and flabby with Sarcopenic muscles.

Originally posted by thedeadtruth
I think the whole " I am a healthy vegetarian " opinion is invalid until you are over 40. Especially those about 20 and idealistic who could basically live on anything and still be considered healthy. I think I lived on a really bad diet between the ages of 20-30 and still looked really lean and strong. So vegetarians please do not confuse "youth" with "healthy".

The fact is is after about 35 your body really does starts to show up weaknesses in your diet.

I have yet to see a healthy looking 50 yr old vegetarian. They are always skinny, gaunt and flabby with Sarcopenic muscles.

That seems harsh and anecdotal. whole cultures who are vegetararian and are so until old age and death. Not all vegetarians are weak anymore than all meat eaters are lazy and obese-It is a terrible statement to make.

There are a lot of older vegetarians out there, you can just google them. I did.

www.youtube.com...


Vegan -72 year old body builder

or

en.wikipedia.org...

She didn't eat meat until 110- holy moly.
I think that speaks for itself, that she was fine without for a lot longer than an average human would expect to live.

In either case- vegetarain diet is neither good or bad until someone either uses it correctly or does not. Same with a meat diet. Both can say the same thing.


If it takes until age 50 for a vegetarian diet to show its ill effects, then we must say that about all diets. Yet we know it is true that youth who eat junk and fast foods everyday show their physical problems almost immidiately. I don't see any evidence that one would need to wait very long to see the effects of a diet.

Like I said before, I have nothing against people who eat meat-I do find it insulting when those who eat meat want to throw around 'facts' about how weak or ugly we are compared to them-That just seems silly really.

[edit on 18-2-2010 by Zerra]