Veganism aiding in spiritual growth?

[Altair]

Originally Posted by LoGronn

I am a meat eater because I think meat gives me physical strength but I am well aware of the fact that it is not the best option for our soul.

I regularly go to the gym and I can choose to eat a wide variety of beans, hummus and falafel, peanut butter, etc. Of course you can also eat dairy since you only mention meat. But meat isn't required for strength. You won't collapse or shrink muscle if you eat enough non-meat protein.

[Altair]

Originally Posted by Debrah

Given that animals in the food industry have to be supplemented with B12 to keep them healthy long enough to 'grow up' and given that human health is suffering in myriad ways including a deficiency as described above, it seems to me that it's time to retire the excuse that people can't be veg'n 'because of the B12 issue'.

It doesn't seem like an excuse though, your numbers indicate some groups are more likely to be at risk, both you and me among them. And because vegans also don't eat/drink dairy they could very well be the ones upping that number. Where do you get your B12 from? Fortified foods?

[Debrah]

Originally Posted by Altair

It doesn't seem like an excuse though, your numbers indicate some groups are more likely to be at risk, both you and me among them. And because vegans also don't eat/drink dairy they could very well be the ones upping that number. Where do you get your B12 from? Fortified foods?

Those aren't 'my' numbers Altair. Those are the results of 18 different studies done by researchers.

Unfortunately, a great many veg'ns aren't as focused on health as I am, so they fail to do any research about their food needs much like the average meat eater. And in passing, they hear things like you can get B12 from mushrooms or spirulina.....both of which are incorrect. Or they rely on a sporadic intake from the cup of soy milk on their cereal. On that score, my understanding is the B12 in soy milk may not even do them any good because soy has compounds that block B12 absorption. And if that's their source, well they're out of luck.

Personally, I supplement 3x per week with a B12 methylcobalamin tablet, 1000 mcg. When I had a blood panel done a couple years ago, the doctor asked me if I supplemented B12 and when I said yes, he said, 'well cut back, you've got way more in your system than you need'. So I cut back from every day to 3x per week. I think Dr. Greger or Jack Norris (vegan's both), recommend that dosage. http://jacknorrisrd.com/b12-recommen...-for-all-ages/

Considering how easy it is to feel healthy and satiated on a vegan diet, and that supplementation is actually simple, inexpensive and entirely doable without killing someone, 'not going vegan because of the B12 issue' is easily relegated to the Excuse pile.

[Debrah]

Originally Posted by LoGronn

For sport, seriously.

For sport? Do you mean for 'fun' or 'because you think the sport of weightlifting' can't be done without meat? Because there are more and more vegans in the sports industry, runners, weight lifters, fighters, body builders, etc., who all attest to improved performance and recovery when they quit eating meat. Or if the few who've been vegan forever, speak out without the context of having made that change in their active years, they're already at the top of the game and that level speaks for itself.

[Altair]

Debrah, the numbers do indicate we are a more vulnerable group. This is what you bypassed.
I suspect vegans are responsible for the high percentage, considering they also avoid dairy products.

[Debrah]

Originally Posted by Altair

Debrah, the numbers do indicate we are a more vulnerable group. This is what you bypassed.
I suspect vegans are responsible for the high percentage, considering they also avoid dairy products.

I have never 'bypassed' anything Altair. I'm always quick to tell anyone who will listen, if they are vegan, to supplement B12. I don't tell them that mushrooms or spirulina will give them enough and I don't even suggest that if they just make a point of fortified nut milks, that they're good to go. I always recommend an actual supplement of 1000mcg of B12 taken 3x per week because it is that important. I even tell my old mom who eats meat and uses dairy and eggs, to take a B12 supplement!

And the numbers that I linked to, shows that every demographic is at risk even if they eat meat. Our veg'n numbers are shown apart from those other groups but that doesn't mean their numbers are the responsibility of vegans. That's like blaming vegans for the problem of orang-utans losing their habitat because all of our societies make use of products that have palm oil.

I had an uncle who was a lifelong, heavy meat eater. But he had stomach troubles for much of his last years and he popped Tums like a favourite candy. Did you know that Tums impair your ability to absorb B12? And the more Tums, the greater the impairment. Each year as my uncle got older, his mind suffered more as a type of dementia seemed to become an issue. Tums reduces the stomach acids available to properly digest (separate the B12 from the food particles) the meat in his diet. And B12 deficits appears to have connections to subsequent Alzheimers diagnoses.

I've actually taken the time to research about B12. So I know a bit about what the physicians and scientific researchers have found regarding what can create a problem with the absorption of B12 that is found in the diets of your average meat eater. It can be poor diet, digestive problems, medications, other disease processes.....but because many people are truly ignorant about their health/bodies/food requirements, they think that because they're eating meat, they have all the bases covered. Well that's not true apparently and their inclusion in those numbers is the proof of that.

[inavalan]

Originally Posted by Inipu27

Have any of you noticed/ felt a change in your awareness and/or spiritual abilities after converting to veganism? I had more spiritual experiences when I was younger in which I happened to be vegan. I've read a number of books suggesting you convert to vegetarianism or veganism, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Until I was 6 years old I refused to eat meat, to my parents' concern. I was also a skinny child. After I got hepatitis through an infected needle while vaccinated, I was put on a "healthy" diet (meet included), and constrained to less physical activity for a long period, to recover. I became an overweight child.

This is only one example of instances in which my innate instincts were overridden by society's brainwashing (from parents, teachers, and others, all with my best interest at heart). It took some long time until I started to be drawn back toward some of those innate instincts about life, and toward spiritual growth.

But, I don't think that veganism aids spiritual growth in any significant way.

I'm sure that all aspects of our lives are interconnected, physical and non-physical.

This is a quote from Seth:

"The eating of meat without doubt focuses the physical mechanism closely to the physical system. There is nothing wrong with this. If you are trying to develop inner abilities however, and if you wish to allow yourself a mobility of focus, then moderation in this respect must be used."
Session 185, Page 247

[LadyMay]

Yes, I feel closer and more connected to mother earth, and more connected to my own nature and being as a result.

[Middleagedseeker]

I feel since giving up dairy not only healthier and much less pain, but I think I’m a bit calmer and maybe my hormones are more under control? I just turned 49 yesterday and I’m on a new spiritual journal to get my life together before I turn 50. I want to go full vegan, lose weight, reconnect with my higher power, and learn to relax and enjoy this latter half of my life.

[Debrah]

Originally Posted by Middleagedseeker

I feel since giving up dairy not only healthier and much less pain, but I think I’m a bit calmer and maybe my hormones are more under control? I just turned 49 yesterday and I’m on a new spiritual journal to get my life together before I turn 50. I want to go full vegan, lose weight, reconnect with my higher power, and learn to relax and enjoy this latter half of my life.

Did you know that there is actually one small study that seems to indicate a change (an improvement) in attitude when all meat consumption is stopped? I was thinking about it and in my opinion, that is the logical consequence of not consuming the fear and stress hormones that would naturally flood an animals tissue at the moment of dying. When you think about how terrified they are when they're loaded onto that last truck and then set foot in that reeking slaughterhouse, how can they not be completely afraid? And when people eat that meat, they're eating those hormones. They do say, 'You are what you eat'. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22333737