when did you feel spiritual benefit?

[jinivha]

what diet(s) did you try and when did you feel spiritual gain from it? What did you experience?

- Veganism.
- Instantly...the moment I made the decision.
- The real meaning of respect.

[Emmalevine]

I was fully vegan for a time and I felt happier, more compassionate and respectful of life.

Unfortunately I couldn't sustain this diet due to severe and worsening health problems but I am eating as little animal food as I can get away with. I'm certainly a lot more conscious of what I eat and bless the animal that gave its life. I am very aware of animal suffering in all forms.

[Tobi]

Starbuck -forgive me for prying...but is it that you need Omega 3? And that is why you have to eat some animal protein?
Or maybe it is another thing entirely...

[Emmalevine]

No I just can't seem to digest vegetarian protein well. I felt much worse without all meat and fish and had constant leg cramps, which can be linked to lack of taurine, an amino acid that is only found in animal products. But I don' really know specifically what it was. Bear in mind that I have significant health problems anyway so what food I can cope with may be very different to the mainstream. All I know I feel a lot better when I eat fish, sadly.

Originally Posted by Starbuck

No I just can't seem to digest vegetarian protein well. I felt much worse without all meat and fish and had constant leg cramps, which can be linked to lack of taurine, an amino acid that is only found in animal products. But I don' really know specifically what it was. Bear in mind that I have significant health problems anyway so what food I can cope with may be very different to the mainstream. All I know I feel a lot better when I eat fish, sadly.

There is absolutely no difference between proteins from plants and proteins from animals. Protein is protein. Humans need 22 amino acids (proteins). Our bodies make 11 of these proteins and we need to consume the other 9 essential amino acids. These can be derived from any source. If you feel better from eating fish, it's not the protein. And if you don't digest vegetables well, it's not the protein, it's some other reason.

Here's just one chart comparing protein amounts in plant vs animal sources

Leg cramps can be from a wide variety of causes. Magnesium supplements help some people, bioavailable calcium helps others. Taurine can now be sourced from plants and is a non-protein amino acid as well as non-essential, which means the human body makes its own taurine. If eating fish eases the cramping, it's most likely that it's something in fish that helps but isn't connected to protein. But that said, it's possible you need protein supplementation because every body (everybody and every body) is different. You really can get ample protein supplementation from non-animal sources.

This isn't intended to criticize, only to clarify. I know other people who swear they feel better when they consume moderate amounts of fish. But they also know that it isn't related to protein. Clearly, it's something because they are not crazy and are otherwise committed to refraining from all use of nonhuman animals. One is experimenting with various supplements while not eating fish. This is an off-and-on process and thus, time-consuming. She thinks she's found a couple of things that her body seems to need more of but is continuing her personal research.

A side note: I have chronic iron deficiency. My body simply does not utilize iron properly. I have had this problem since I was a very young child. I ate meat until I was in my mid-30s, so it's not at all related to meat-eating. (Besides, there are many plants that are much higher in bioavailable iron than animals.) I will take iron and vitamin C supplements all my life. (C helps the uptake of iron.) My point is that it's not about the plants vs animals.

[knightofalbion]

Originally Posted by Everly

There is absolutely no difference between proteins from plants and proteins from animals. Protein is protein. Humans need 22 amino acids (proteins). Our bodies make 11 of these proteins and we need to consume the other 9 essential amino acids. These can be derived from any source. If you feel better from eating fish, it's not the protein. And if you don't digest vegetables well, it's not the protein, it's some other reason.

Here's just one chart comparing protein amounts in plant vs animal sources

Leg cramps can be from a wide variety of causes. Magnesium supplements help some people, bioavailable calcium helps others. Taurine can now be sourced from plants and is a non-protein amino acid as well as non-essential, which means the human body makes its own taurine. If eating fish eases the cramping, it's most likely that it's something in fish that helps but isn't connected to protein. But that said, it's possible you need protein supplementation because every body (everybody and every body) is different. You really can get ample protein supplementation from non-animal sources.

This isn't intended to criticize, only to clarify. I know other people who swear they feel better when they consume moderate amounts of fish. But they also know that it isn't related to protein. Clearly, it's something because they are not crazy and are otherwise committed to refraining from all use of nonhuman animals. One is experimenting with various supplements while not eating fish. This is an off-and-on process and thus, time-consuming. She thinks she's found a couple of things that her body seems to need more of but is continuing her personal research.

A side note: I have chronic iron deficiency. My body simply does not utilize iron properly. I have had this problem since I was a very young child. I ate meat until I was in my mid-30s, so it's not at all related to meat-eating. (Besides, there are many plants that are much higher in bioavailable iron than animals.) I will take iron and vitamin C supplements all my life. (C helps the uptake of iron.) My point is that it's not about the plants vs animals.

Great post!

[knightofalbion]

Embracing compassionate living, how to word it?

A light comes on - and stays on....

And a weight is lifted from your shoulders ....

And there's a smile in your heart ...

Originally Posted by knightofalbion

Embracing compassionate living, how to word it?

A light comes on - and stays on....

And a weight is lifted from your shoulders ....

And there's a smile in your heart ...

Wow. So true. So amazingly, sacredly true.

[Emmalevine]

Originally Posted by Everly

There is absolutely no difference between proteins from plants and proteins from animals. Protein is protein. Humans need 22 amino acids (proteins). Our bodies make 11 of these proteins and we need to consume the other 9 essential amino acids. These can be derived from any source. If you feel better from eating fish, it's not the protein. And if you don't digest vegetables well, it's not the protein, it's some other reason.

Here's just one chart comparing protein amounts in plant vs animal sources

Leg cramps can be from a wide variety of causes. Magnesium supplements help some people, bioavailable calcium helps others. Taurine can now be sourced from plants and is a non-protein amino acid as well as non-essential, which means the human body makes its own taurine. If eating fish eases the cramping, it's most likely that it's something in fish that helps but isn't connected to protein. But that said, it's possible you need protein supplementation because every body (everybody and every body) is different. You really can get ample protein supplementation from non-animal sources.

This isn't intended to criticize, only to clarify. I know other people who swear they feel better when they consume moderate amounts of fish. But they also know that it isn't related to protein. Clearly, it's something because they are not crazy and are otherwise committed to refraining from all use of nonhuman animals. One is experimenting with various supplements while not eating fish. This is an off-and-on process and thus, time-consuming. She thinks she's found a couple of things that her body seems to need more of but is continuing her personal research.

A side note: I have chronic iron deficiency. My body simply does not utilize iron properly. I have had this problem since I was a very young child. I ate meat until I was in my mid-30s, so it's not at all related to meat-eating. (Besides, there are many plants that are much higher in bioavailable iron than animals.) I will take iron and vitamin C supplements all my life. (C helps the uptake of iron.) My point is that it's not about the plants vs animals.

Thank you for your clarification. I'm going by my experience rather than knowledge because as I said I don't really know why I felt better by eating fish, but I did. I looked into taurine because I wondered if my body couldn't utilise the vegetarian protein properly and thus needs an external source. But obviously I don't know. I was actually considering buying a hemp seed protein powder, and am using chi seeds, both of which are meant to be very good protein sources for vegetarians, so I will look into this further. If there's any way that I don't have to eat fish, then of course I'm keen to find it.

I don't really like to take up anymore time on this thread as its about spirituality and vegetarianism, but thanks for the help.