Ask A Vegan

[Nomad Girl]

Hey guys, if anyone has any questions on veganism feel free to post them and I'll do my best to answer them in the most unbiased way I can. And if there's any other vegans here I'm sure they'll be happy to answer questions as well.

I've learnt how veganism positively affects:

Spirituality
The environment
Health
Undeveloped countries
Animal welfare

I posted this thread to answer anyone's questions if their interested. I'm happy to debate any cynics too if that is their wish, as long as it is in a friendly and peaceful manner.

[Baile]

I've a question for Nomad Girl!

Mine is a whole foods only diet. Just fruit and vegetables, organic and in as raw a form as possible. What are your views on anything I may be missing out on, and might need to consider taking? FYI, I've been eating this way for five years, and don't feel ill or anything. But maybe there's something that will make me feel even better than I do? Also, I don't take supplements. Thanks.

[Nomad Girl]

Originally Posted by Baile

I've a question for Nomad Girl!

Mine is a whole foods only diet. Just fruit and vegetables, organic and in as raw a form as possible. What are your views on anything I may be missing out on, and might need to consider taking? FYI, I've been eating this way for five years, and don't feel ill or anything. But maybe there's something that will make me feel even better than I do? Also, I don't take supplements. Thanks.

Hi Baile

My opinion will come across differently than the one previously given but yes, as you pointed out, a lot of my knowledge comes from Ayurvedic medicine which is different Fromm Western medicine (with the exception of Dr Robert Morse, a vegan doctor who has fought up to a hundred court cases against the American health allopathic system for misleading information given to the public.) i take seriously as I plan to study Allopathy / Integral medicine in the future as well.

If you eat a fruits and vegetables, mostly on a raw diet, you are on one of the healthiest diet possible. All body types are completely different which Western medicine rarely takes into account. The Western B12 levels that are "normal" are based on the dietary intake of people who eat animal products, so of course the standard is a lot higher. In terms of any other supplements, I would say you don't need them. However what's important for me to ask is how long have you been vegan?

If you are particularly concerned about not receiving enough dietary vitimins etc. it comes down to your choice to check it out but I will say To you confidently that you don't need anything at all.

For thousands of years many Indians lived complete vegan and vegetarian lives. This is a very unpopular opinion but unfortunately western medicine earns money from sick people, not healthy people, which is why it heals symptons not illness / disease. I'm not saying to disregard it, I'm saying keep this in mind, because as a vegan especially it will affect you. People will make you feel fear towards your own health when they understand very little about your lifestyle. Traditional Ayurvedics offer their service completely for free and they always say raw food is the healthiest food because it is live.

Another point is that the body has been known to turn nutrition into what it needs the most, such as protein into calcium, etc. (Another rather unknown and unpopular opinion yet is peer-based from a American GP Dr Morse [science is biased])

Apologies for the unstructured reply as I am writing on a phone.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by Nomad Girl

However what's important for me to ask is how long have you been vegan?

Ten years. For a time I ate grains and soy, etc. Then I switched to just fruit and vegetables five years ago. I would supplement my meals with vegan protein powder, but I stopped even that three years ago. I've never felt weak or ill, and I never get sick with the flu. I seem to have lots of energy (for what I do anyway, heh). I don't take pharmaceuticals, headache pills, etc. If I do happen to feel under the weather I take echinacea tincture, and that clears it up instantly. Thanks Nomad Girl.

[Nomad Girl]

Originally Posted by Baile

Ten years. For a time I ate grains and soy, etc. Then I switched to just fruit and vegetables five years ago. I would supplement my meals with vegan protein powder, but I stopped even that three years ago. I've never felt weak or ill, and I never get sick with the flu. I seem to have lots of energy (for what I do anyway, heh). I don't take pharmaceuticals, headache pills, etc. If I do happen to feel under the weather I take echinacea tincture, and that clears it up instantly. Thanks Nomad Girl.

Ten years is wonderful! You have chosen a great lifestyle you should continue. I would recommend trying a completely raw food diet when you find a time that suits you.

Sickness is a form of detox. Most people go through a sickness when they change their lifestyle / diet from an unhealthy to healthy one and come out the other end feeling better. If you get sick and you can't explain why, it is good to ask someone then. Other health factors could be contributing to it in that case.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by Nomad Girl

Ten years is wonderful! You have chosen a great lifestyle you should continue.

Thanks. I have reached the point with my lifestyle choices where the thought of doing something different, never crosses my mind. This is what I do. This is my path now, and will always be.

And in a very real way it chose me. My eyes were opened many times via a process I've come to understand as my higher self, instructing and guiding me along this path. I gave up alcohol, drugs and smoking decades ago, because something told me my well-being depended on it. And this was long before my self-understanding awakening. Likewise my giving up eating meat. I had never considered a vegetarian diet. But one day it hit me from out of the blue: I'm eating a dead animal here. This isn't just disgusting, it's immoral. I honestly never had those thoughts before that moment. I couldn't have told you what a vegan was, I had never researched alternative diets. But that was it, I stopped eating meat from then on. Once the epiphany happens, the conscious understanding takes hold and becomes my new lifestyle. This is how my lifestyle has evolved over the years really; something showing me what I need, before I realize I need it.

[Tobi]

Originally Posted by Nomad Girl

Hi Baile

My opinion will come across differently than the one previously given but yes, as you pointed out, a lot of my knowledge comes from Ayurvedic medicine which is different Fromm Western medicine (with the exception of Dr Robert Morse, a vegan doctor who has fought up to a hundred court cases against the American health allopathic system for misleading information given to the public.) i take seriously as I plan to study Allopathy / Integral medicine in the future as well.

If you eat a fruits and vegetables, mostly on a raw diet, you are on one of the healthiest diet possible. All body types are completely different which Western medicine rarely takes into account. The Western B12 levels that are "normal" are based on the dietary intake of people who eat animal products, so of course the standard is a lot higher. In terms of any other supplements, I would say you don't need them. However what's important for me to ask is how long have you been vegan?

If you are particularly concerned about not receiving enough dietary vitimins etc. it comes down to your choice to check it out but I will say To you confidently that you don't need anything at all.

For thousands of years many Indians lived complete vegan and vegetarian lives. This is a very unpopular opinion but unfortunately western medicine earns money from sick people, not healthy people, which is why it heals symptons not illness / disease. I'm not saying to disregard it, I'm saying keep this in mind, because as a vegan especially it will affect you. People will make you feel fear towards your own health when they understand very little about your lifestyle. Traditional Ayurvedics offer their service completely for free and they always say raw food is the healthiest food because it is live.

Another point is that the body has been known to turn nutrition into what it needs the most, such as protein into calcium, etc. (Another rather unknown and unpopular opinion yet is peer-based from a American GP Dr Morse [science is biased])

Apologies for the unstructured reply as I am writing on a phone.

I am genuinely fascinated by what you have said in this post, Nomad Girl.

It has made me wonder if I have just become over-conditioned by "things that I've read about nutrition".
And yes....I am a bit wary of getting it wrong, so supplement. I "read" (for example) that B12 deficiency can sometimes not manifest for 10 years or so. But it would be nice NOT to have to supplement, and a heck of a lot cheaper! I don't know -for myself anyway -yet.

It all seems so complex. I can hardly get my thoughts around it most of the time.

Usually I don't feel like eating a totally raw diet though. It is a cold place I live in and there is nothing nicer when it's cold than a hot lentil stew with lots of toasted wholewheat seed bread!

[Debrah]

Originally Posted by Tobi

I am genuinely fascinated by what you have said in this post, Nomad Girl.

It has made me wonder if I have just become over-conditioned by "things that I've read about nutrition".
And yes....I am a bit wary of getting it wrong, so supplement. I "read" (for example) that B12 deficiency can sometimes not manifest for 10 years or so. But it would be nice NOT to have to supplement, and a heck of a lot cheaper! I don't know -for myself anyway -yet.

It all seems so complex. I can hardly get my thoughts around it most of the time.

Usually I don't feel like eating a totally raw diet though. It is a cold place I live in and there is nothing nicer when it's cold than a hot lentil stew with lots of toasted wholewheat seed bread!

If you quit eating meat at a particular point, you have enough B12 stored in your liver to last at 'top' levels for about 6 years, but at about 20 the store is depleted. Unfortunately, by that time, the damage is done and dementia will have to become your friend. So don't quit supplementing B12. Go ahead and get everything else strictly from your diet, but B12 is non-negotiable. That is what I've been reading and I've also read in a number of instances, that researchers have found frequently, that veg'ns are deficient in B12.

As well, I can't help but wonder if it isn't possible that those Indian veg'n who never supplemented, didn't frequently lead agricultural lives or had food prepared for them by people who worked in the soil and if they didn't get their B12 needs met because hygiene was not what we live with today? Dirty, soiled hands that haven't been sanitized would have 'contaminated' the foods consumed and B12 is a bacteria that grows in the soil.

[Lucky 1]

Originally Posted by Debrah

If you quit eating meat at a particular point, you have enough B12 stored in your liver to last at 'top' levels for about 6 years, but at about 20 the store is depleted. Unfortunately, by that time, the damage is done and dementia will have to become your friend. So don't quit supplementing B12. Go ahead and get everything else strictly from your diet, but B12 is non-negotiable. That is what I've been reading and I've also read in a number of instances, that researchers have found frequently, that veg'ns are deficient in B12.

As well, I can't help but wonder if it isn't possible that those Indian veg'n who never supplemented, didn't frequently lead agricultural lives or had food prepared for them by people who worked in the soil and if they didn't get their B12 needs met because hygiene was not what we live with today? Dirty, soiled hands that haven't been sanitized would have 'contaminated' the foods consumed and B12 is a bacteria that grows in the soil.

I find myself thinking that any diet that requires mandatory supplementation to stay healthy on doesn't sound like a diet anyone should be eating.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by Nomad Girl

I'm happy to debate any cynics too

Why would someone be cynical of someone else's lifestyle? I drive a Honda, you drive a Toyota. The end. Oh hey, I see you're versed in Ayurveda medicine. Would you consider maybe speaking to people online about balancing questions? I'm only asking because you appear to be pretty enlivened by the idea of interacting with people. Thanks.