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December
10
When Vegans Crash and Burn — Ex Vegans Going Back to Meat
Filed under Vegetarian & Vegan Nutrition by Frederic Patenaude
33
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I’ve been getting some questions lately from readers who are afraid to go on a raw vegan diet because of the possible negative consequences of staying vegan in the long-term.
Almost everybody I know has a friend who allegedly went vegan or vegetarian, but then suffered some sort of health problem or deficiency, went back to meat and now feels “much better.”
These stories, along with famous or semi-famous ex-vegans that come out of the closet, are enough to scare most newbies and convince them to give up the diet for good.
Recently, the actress Ginnifer Goodwin gave up her vegan diet after years of outspoken animal activism, for “health reasons.” Other famous actresses like Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel have also given up the vegan diet as well.
A young raw foodist from Turkey, Erim Bilgim, that I had a chance to meet during my travels last year, also went off the raw vegan diet and started eating meat again in addition to his 80/10/10 style diet. He attracted some attention in the raw food community after being interviewed by the website www.letthemeatmeat.com, a site that interviews ex-vegans.
These stories are enough to scare away some vegans, but also give some ammunition to your friends and family who don’t approve of your lifestyle.
Why Vegans Crash and Burn
First of all, I have to state that I am not one of those judgmental vegans. If a person decides to give up a diet for whatever reason, I am not here to criticize their decision. After all, it’s their lives and they can do whatever they want.
I also don’t consider myself to be a true “vegan,” because on rare occasions, a few times a year, I might have some animal products. I don’t do it out of fear of deficiency, but simply on some social occasions, or just to prove that I’m not a vegan.
For example, while I was traveling around the world last year for 8 months, there were a few occasions were being a 100% vegan was just too difficult. So I slipped a few times during the trip, but mostly because there were very few options available.
Overall, my diet is 99.5% vegan/plant based by definition.
What I want to emphasize is that just being vegan is really not a health choice, but more an ethical choice.
The vegan diet, in itself, can be healthy or unhealthy. It is not by definition a healthy diet, because a vegan could choose to eat unhealthy foods and still call herself a pure “vegan.”
Here are some of the common mistakes that vegans and raw vegans make:
1) Too much fat, especially omega 6 fats
Vegans cut out saturated fats, but often replace it with vegetable oils and other fat sources, which means that their diet is not only high in fat, but also very high in omega-6 fats.
For example, many plant foods contain a lot of omega 6 but very little omega 3.
Take a look at the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in some common plant foods. The first number is the omega-6:
| English Walnuts | 4:1 |
| Macadamia | 6:1 |
| Pecans | 20:1 |
| Pistachio | 37:1 |
| Hazelnut | 88:1 |
| Cashew | 117:1 |
| Pumpkin Seeds | 117:1 |
| Sunflower Seeds | 300:1 |
| Pine Nuts | 300:1 |
| Brazil Nuts | 1000:1 |
| Almonds | 1800:1 |
| Avocado: | 15:1 |
| Flax Seeds | 1:3.1 |
| Chia seeds | 1:3 |
As you can tell, many plant foods are too rich in omega-6 and not rich enough in omega-3.
Many ex-vegans have blamed the vegan diet for being too low in omega-3. But research has shown that the real problem is that we get too much added omega-6 fat! We’re told to eat healthy fats, like the foods above, but in fact they are throwing our ratios way off.
Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats promote inflammation in the body. When you eat too much of it, it competes with your absorption of omega-3 fats, which are anti-inflammatory.
The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is between 1:1 and 4:1.
Fruits and vegetables, as well as other low-fat plant foods, have a natural ratio of 1:1.
If most of your calories come from these foods, then adding a bit of higher fat plant foods with lots of omega-6 will not overthrow your balance. However, if a significant proportion of your calories come from these plant foods and oils, you are in trouble.
We can see that most vegans and raw vegans not only get too much fat but also promote omega-3 deficiencies through an overconsumption of omega-6 fats.
2) Too much fat in general
Vegans eliminate unhealthy animal protein, but often replace it with foods that are very high in fat, even higher than animal foods. Raw foodists do the same with an overreliance on nuts, seeds and avocados.
Too much fat in the diet now only promotes heart disease and cancer, but it also affects every aspect of your health negatively. It’s also much easier to gain weight eating fatty foods rather than eating low-fat, carbohydrate-rich foods.
Too much fat does the following and more to your body:
- Negatively affects insulin sensitivity and promotes diabetes and high-blood sugar
– Is easily converted into body fat and promotes weight gain
– Negatively affects energy levels and athletic performance due to lower oxygen uptake
– Promotes inflammation and omega-3 deficiencies
– Negatively affects digestion and nutrient absorption
– Promotes heart disease and high cholesterol, as even vegetable fats contain appreciable quantities of saturated fats (like coconut and palm oil)
Some raw food recipes especially, but also vegan “junk” food, can be especially rich in fat and calories. Compare for example:
|
Big Mac |
Big Mac w/ Large Fries |
Raw Vegan Taco* |
|
|
Calories |
570 calories |
1040 calories |
1500 calories |
|
Fat |
34 grams |
54 grams |
142 grams |
|
Protein |
24 grams |
31 grams |
30 grams |
|
Carbs |
47 grams |
108 grams |
57 grams |
|
Sodium |
1070 mg |
1394 |
1700 mg |
*For the Raw Taco recipe, I used a recipe found at: http://www.live-green-smoothie-diet. com/2009/04/genuinely-meaty-raw-taco-meat with-chunky-guacamole-and-fresh- cherry-tomato-jalapeno-salsa/. It is made with mushrooms, walnuts, olive oil, raw cacao, tomatoes, avocado, pine nuts, and a few other seasonings.
As I discovered while writing my book Raw Food Controversies, a raw food recipe like “Raw Tacos” can contain more calories, more fat, and more sodium that an order of a Big Mac with large fries at McDonalds!
For raw vegans, sources of fats include olive oil, coconut oil, flax oil, avocado, nuts and seeds — all of which are often used in large quantities in every recipe.
For cooked vegans, fat sources that pile up include: all oils, fried foods like fries, chips, donuts, crackers, “Earth Balance” products, coconut milk, vegan cheeses, “sour creams”, and fake meat products like Tofurkey.
Vegans should make the center of their meals low-fat, high-carbohydrate foods like fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains, and only use higher-fat foods as condiments for flavour, if they are to be used at all.
Raw vegans need to make the center of each meal fruit, and eat plenty of it to meet their caloric needs. Greens should be consumed for minerals, and fatty foods should be used as condiments, not as the main ingredient in a dish like raw tacos or burgers.
3) Vegans could be deficient in Vitamin b12
Vitamin B12 deficiencies are common in vegans, especially raw vegans who don’t take any supplement. Many symptoms can be attributed to a B12 deficiency, including fatigue and failure to thrive.
The standard recommendation is to take a B12 supplement containing 25 to 100 mcg every day, or one containing at least 1000 mcg three times a week. If you’ve been on a vegan diet for a while, you might start with some B12 injections, as low B12 levels can actually prevent absorption from dietary or supplemental B12. Taking an oral supplement later, can be too little too late, so get tested for deficiencies if you are concerned.
Vegans who don’t make these mistakes
Some vegans and raw foodists say that they don’t make these mistakes, but yet still don’t feel right and think they should go back to meat in order to feel better. In many cases, cleaning up your diet, eating whole foods, getting enough calories without too much fat is enough to make a difference. In other cases, more complex factors may be at play.
For example, some vegans, especially raw foodists, overly restrict their diet by eating only a few types of food. This type of nutritional narrowness can lead to some deficiencies, overtime.
How Can You Be a Healthier Vegan?
Vegans and raw vegans can make some simple changes to immediately improve their diet and their health.
1) Get rid of all oil in your house. Avoid drizzling oil on your salads, instead, use low-fat salad dressings. homemade is best.
2) Whenever you make a recipe, just omit the oil and usually it will taste just as good without it!
3) Avoid using nuts, seeds or avocados as a main ingredient in any recipe.
4) Vegans beware of vegan products that are often too rich in fat, such as “Earth Balance” “Toffutti” products, “Daiya Cheese,” “Gimme Leans” “Gardein” products and other dairy or meat replacement.
5) Raw vegans: learn to eat fruit as the center piece of your meal, instead of raw recipes that are high in fat, or salads that will leave you hungry 30 minutes later.
6) Minimize the use of all processed plant foods, including ALL oils, sugar, agave, white flours, etc.
To discover how to make delicious, SAVORY, and OIL-FREE raw food recipes that taste great for dinner time, check out the recently launched product Savory Raw Dinner Recipes! We have a special bonus and more, offered during the launch only. Go to:
http:/www.fredericpatenaude.com/savory
33 Responses to “When Vegans Crash and Burn — Ex Vegans Going Back to Meat”
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What do you think about the potential for just being addicted to meat? I’ve spoken to a few ex-vegans who describe an instant euphoria from the consumption of meat, more akin to the consumption of a drug than a food. They believe they have been deficient in nutrients, and ascribe this sensation to the nutrients they have been lacking surging through their bodies almost instantaneously and giving them their health back.
To me, this sounds like the false and temporary sense of well being one gets from consuming an addictive stimulant. After all, if vitamins or minerals had this effect on people suffering from deficiencies, no one would need drugs, either legal or illegal, to get high, no?
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Mary says:
Frederic – I have known that many seeds and nuts are high in omega 6, but not all of the ones on your list. What is your source for the info?
Thanks heaps for your good work.
God bless.
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Chris says:
Twenty six years ago at the age of 12 when I first made the connection between what was on my plate and the destruction and suffering of other beings I swore off of ever being the cause of it again. Seven years later, as my education grew and I learned of the practices of dairy and hatchery producers I swore off of those products as well and went Vegan. I thought at the time that I may be harming my health in doing so as I had bought into the dominant culture message that you needed animal source nutrition for optimum health, but I didn’t care. I made a conscious choice to quit being a consumer of suffering. To my delighted surprise my health and energy went through the roof instead and have stayed there for 20 years.
When I was in university and living off of vegan bagels and V8 juice, my energy sagged but that had nothing do to with being vegan and everything to do with laziness. Bringing fruit with me instead solved that problem. I guess that’s why I have such a hard time understanding why people go off of vegan for ‘health reasons’ when study after study demonstrates that it is an optimal way of life for health reasons – providing you are getting adequate variety. It is just as possible to be a malnourished vegan as it is meat eater if you rely on processed garbage for nutrition. I suppose it depends on what motivates you. I could no more not be vegan that I could not be human. It is who I am to the core and how I see and interact with the world around me. That is why I am so puzzled by statements such a choosing to consume animal flesh – something that many raw foodists have accepted a harmful – to ‘prove that one is not vegan,” as though vegan were somehow a bad thing. Even the United Nations have recognizeda that Veganism as a potent means by which to address climate degradation and food scarcity on a grand scale.
I suppose he point of all of this is to state that motivation is key to success and your success as a vegan (or anything really) depends on what motivates you. For me, ethics and compassion for all beings that can feel fear and pain drive me to ensure that I never cause either and therefore I would be vegan no matter what. But if you are motivated by health, vegan is still the answer. You need look no further than the work of Dr. Colin T. Campbell and numerous others to see that. If environmental protection is your motivation, vegan is still the answer. Food security and more equitable distribution of resources, yes, vegan again. The point is know why you are doing it and empower yourself accordingly with the information and support that is so much more readily available now that it was 20 years ago when I first embarked on this glorious journey. From one lifelong vegan, take it from me, it is a worthwhile pursuit.
Good health and good luck.
Chris Von Schindler -
Frederic Patenaude says:
Jeff Novick (www.jeffnovick.com) has a great DVD presentation on fat where he gives all the numbers I gave you and more. You can also analyze with some nutrient databases and find out for yourself. However, keep in mind that most nuts and seeds contain a lot of mono-unsaturated fats. Therefore that doesn’t mean that eating a few nuts will offset your omega3-6 ratio completely.
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Fred, can you tell me what this statement is based on:
“The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is between 1:1 and 4:1.”
How did researchers come up with this ‘ideal ratio’? being that it’s difficult enough to obtain it even on a raw/vegan diet, and nearly impossible on a typical high-meat diet. It seems a little strange to me that whole, natural foods like nuts and avocados would be so far out of balance, meaning that even a small amount of those foods could throw off the proper balance.
Also, whenever I hear of ex-vegans who went back to eating meat, I always wonder why they didn’t just start eating organic, free-range eggs instead. For ethical reasons, if I felt I needed animal ‘foods’, I’d much rather eat eggs than go back to eating dead animals! I’ve wondered why they have to go to such drastic measures. If they feel they need animal protein or whatever, that can be accomplished with free-range eggs.
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“Almost everybody I know has a friend who allegedly went vegan or vegetarian, but then suffered some sort of health problem or deficiency, went back to meat and now feels “much better.”
This is exactly what happened to my sister when she was a teenager. After being off meat for a while, she went completely vegan for a very short time (I believe it was only a few weeks), felt very weak and started eating animal products again. I was very young and so for me, it was proof that veganism was “stupid”.
It was only later that I found out she just wasn’t eating. Literally, breakfast for her would be an orange or two or maybe an apple! She had removed all calorie resources (like a big bowl of corn with melted cheese on top…I know, pretty gross) without replacing them with anything.
Swayze
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Hey Frederic
First off, thanks for the great resource. I know I feel the same as Monica about the eggs. The longer it’s been since I eat meat, the more wrong it feels to do it.I wanted to give you a heads up that your savory link is broken, I tried linking to it before from a different blog and thought maybe it was just expired. I hope it’s fixed soon, I’d love to check out those recipes
Thanks again!
-Kimmi -
Thanks for letting me know about the link. I just fixed it. The proper link is:
http:/www.fredericpatenaude.com/savory -
Geri says:
Hi Frederic, nice article, I like it.
I remember hearing w/in this last year of one of the “raw foodist” that sells her mostly Dessert e books had health problems and is now eating meat and is feeling healthier. well here is my opinion and “Gut” information..
If a person is going to suck down large amount of chocolate and nuts and oils get a grip of reality…no wonder your health is messed up..I just can no and will not empathize with these folks..Common sense does not seem 2b very common.
I believe each one of us has to trust our body and KNOW our body as to what to feed it..we all have our own road to travel, our own mistakes to make ( 4 they r our teachers).
I, myself have come pretty much full circle starting in the raw food world from the 80′s and it seems to have become convoluted and distorted..people push all these heavy laden desserts and chocolate and full blown nut/pate meals…. come on way TOO MUCH FAT
My gut said to me RUN do not walk away from these foods.
I have become quite settled into juicing, my lovely raw fruits either mono or blended…some salads….some chia and flax seed ( ground) very little avo and veggies…I really love my greens in drinks. sometimes I just do NOT want to eat a green salad and just want my fruit..
But this did not happen o/night 4 me. But I am here ( at this point in my life with the 80-10-10 ) thanks to YOU, Chris Kendall, Swayzee F, Dr Douglas Graham, Andrew Perlot. People I first got started on raw back in the 80′s were: A. Ehret, Ann WIgmore, Viktoras Kulvinskas, Braggs ( on fasting one day a week ), Dr N Walker on the juicing and raw veggies.
In the Earlier days of Raw food… it was mostly greens, which worked well on many levels however when I juiced my watermelon and grapes ( not together) and drank those drink I feel Better and not weak like I did on the greens.
So, things have changed greatly in this Lifestyle. Frederic, Dr Graham, Swayze Foster, Chris Kendall & Andrew Perlot are those that I favor at this time in my life and for some odd reason ( Ha Ha) I think I shall remain here. also love Anne Osborne…..
Also just heard a recent interview with Dr Graham where everything was pulled together in a Nutshell when he said something 2 the effect that it is not about the fruit or the greens that makes the body heal it is when YOU STOP PUTTING COOKED FOODS IN YOUR BODY..,, Then it begins to heal itself
I find when I eat cooked veggies:
#1 I feel like I am doing my body an injustice
#2 I eat addictively and am out of control
#3 My stomach does not feel good.To those that give up..well ONLY they Know their TRUTH
Only they know if they were eating a lot of Healthy fats and …Over eating.. ( I am not very active and my body does not require a lot of calories, so I do not ear large quantities of fruits as do Frederic, Dr Graham, Swayze Foster & Chris Kendall ) I have a Vitagreen with water drink when I first get up ( yes it could be a juice, but this works for me) then I hav e my first meal, whether it is Veggie juice ( which I favor best), or a green smoothie, or a piece of fruit.I drink lots of clean water, do NOT get hungry..then have some more veggie juice…more water…then I have ONE more meal.. a smoothie or a salad…..this works for me.
Sometimes I do not even want the salad….just a piece of fruit.
I favor A Ehret and some others that we are NOT to Over eat, our body does not need all those calories….Can not remember the names of some of the folks out here that are bearly eating or drinking anything and have more energy that is imaginable ( NOT where I am at in my life, do not know if I ever will be I love eating
)Blessings & Merry Christmas to all
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giselle cioraru says:
Hi Frederic,
U never mentioned in any of your books or Newsletters about this food combination.
Mixing Nuts with other nuts Is that a good or bad food combination?
And I also have a question about Enzymes. If someone eats raw all day, high fruit !0% nuts & seeds or Avocado, and a lot of greens,follows your diet to the letter but sometimes falls off the wagon & eats bread or cheese or cooked veggies stir fried or cooked soup at night do they need to take digestive enzymes? -
Ryan says:
“it is when YOU STOP PUTTING COOKED FOODS IN YOUR BODY..,, Then it begins to heal itself”
What I would really like to see is evidence that cooked food (steamed vegetables, boiled rice etc) is in some way harmful to the body.
I think it heals itself fine as long as you avoid everything else (sugar, white flour, gluten, stimulants, alcohol, meat etc)As Fred stated in an earlier post cooking makes digestion easier and gives us more energy, which can be beneficial for certain body make ups and those of us which are more active. I just can’t see people with reasonable muscle mass and height being able to sustain themselves properly without eating fairly decent sized meals every few hours, which just isn’t practical.
I’m 5’8 and weigh 133lbs and I’m holding at this weight, I eat when I feel hungry. Before I changed diets I was 145lbs and although I would not be considered overweight by anyone however you can tell from photos that my face certainly had a lot more fat on it. I think generally human beings are carrying around far more fat and muscle mass than we need, even these people we consider to be normal weight. I’m thinking humans are actually supposed to be naturally skinny, I mean take a look at any wild human, they certainly don’t have the bulk modernized humans have. This is why I’ve come to the conclusion that anybody with reasonable bulk on them is fairly unhealthy, as a healthy diet naturally promotes a fairly slender frame.
With my own diet what I’m finding is that I sometimes rely on ‘not from concentrate’ juice as it’s quick and easy to get calories from this. Eating fruit every 30-60 minutes at work isn’t a great option. I once ate 4 apples in a row (I thought it would be a good idea) and I actually felt bad for 30 minutes or so (like my stomach was overworked) I guess big fruit meals aren’t a good idea?
When I eat a big salad, generally lettuce, avocado, tomato and maybe some sauerkraut I can’t say I feel satisfied but it does sustain me. I still crave nuts, chips for that salty taste and heavier feeling in my stomach. I’m trying to wean myself off them ones as they’re generally heated at high temperatures and also there is that omega ratio which has become big news recently that Fred just brought up.
To me it almost almost seems like humans have come away somewhat from a strictly fruit and vegetables diet and this may not in fact be optimal for us now, what are your thoughts?
Regards,
Ryan. -
Chris C says:
Hi Frederic,
Thanks for another thought provoking article. You wrote:
“it’s also much easier to gain weight eating fatty foods rather than eating low-fat, carbohydrate-rich foods. – Its easily converted into body fat and promotes weight gain”Yet (1.) I have never met a vegan or raw foodist who has ever had that problem and on the contrary most vegans (e.g. Natalie Portman) are often painfully thin.
Also (2.) what you write here contradicts what Sapoty Brook wrote in his analysis of foods that cause weight gain and foods that make us lose weight in his CaPNaK hypothesis. There he says (‘eco-eating’ p.80) that nuts seeds and avocados PROMOTE weight LOSS as they are phosphorous residue foods. How do you explain these two apparent contradictions to what you have written here? -
Nuts and seeds are 2500 calories per pound. It’s easy to understand why eating them promotes more weight gain than foods, like fruit, that are only 200-300 calories per pound. Most raw foodists are thin in spite of eating nuts and seeds, because they have eliminated almost all other high-calorie foods in their diet. However, most vegans are not very thin, in my experience, most have significant weight to lose.
Sapoty Brook is entitled to his opinion but as far as I’m concerned the CaPNaK hypothesis is unproven.Nuts and seeds are richer foods because they contain more calories per pound — period!
They may promote satiety when eaten in moderation, but adding lots of fatty foods to the diet promotes weight gain long-term. Some whole nuts and seeds eaten in moderation don’t promote weight gain.
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Louise Holt says:
Yes, thanks for the article Fred and for providing some more ‘food for thought’ and stimulating this discussion.I personally find that it is rather worrying to read stories about people suddenly changing diets from one extreme to another, from plant based to suddenly consuming much heavier and more concentrated animal proteins because they aren’t feeling ‘good’ any more. I would suggest that the way these people are feeling sounds rather more like detox reactions or healing crises, which can go on for rather a long time as a raw vegan, but can be dealt with easily when recognised. It’s a shame when people panic and suddenly feel the need to do something drastic. Of course the detox reactions/ healing crisis symptoms miraculously disappear when heavier proteins like animal based ones are consumed because the body suddenly has to focus on digesting them!. If eating meat is optimal for health, why is it I have never heard of anyone reversing cancer or any other chronic condition by eating meat?. Furthermore, if a plant based diet equates to weakness and fragility how is it that the planet’s largest and heaviest land mammals are vegan: elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, gaurs. They don’t appear to be in the least bit ‘weak’ and ‘fragile’!!.
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I have to disagree with you Chris, Natalie is beautifully naturally thin, what I consider to be the natural human weight for her size. You see everyone has this misconception of thinking bigger is better, like more muscle and more fat means your healthier, this is FAR from the truth.
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Something I would like to bring up because I feel it may be beneficial is the consumption of fresh water fish and the high content of Omega 3 they impart, the livers mostly I believe. Apparently humans who were closest to fishing sites were the ones to evolve bigger brains. The problem is the amount of mercury found in todays fish is an issue. I would love to see a raw food test that includes and excludes fish and eggs.
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Lee says:
I thought it was the introduction of cooked food that allowed humans to evolve larger brains… when we started to eat cooked foods, this allowed for more nutrients to be absorbed, more easily, from food, which meant more energy was freed up for other processes besides digestion. The digestive tract became smaller, as a result, and the extra energy no longer needed to break down large amounts of raw foods went to evolve a larger brain.
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Hi Frederic!
Great article, and I continue to enjoy your POV.
I too am mostly raw vegan with an occassional excursion out (an egg,a bite of raw cheese)…The biggest thing that helped me was eating more lightly heated or steamed veggies, or quinoa/wild rice etc. Doing this, instead of loading up on nuts, fats, animal products etc this has helped my health and made it easier to eat mostly vegan and mostly raw. Will check out your savory raw dinner ideas too!Best to You!
Berrnadette -
What do you think about the 80 10 10 approach? I have bought your previous books but notice a change in your recipes now. Lower fat and more ingredients. I like the variety that you have added. I am eating mostly fruits and greens and I feel awesome, some days I eat nuts, others some avocado and I try to eat green.
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Peter says:
Hi! You got some numbers wrong regarding the omega6 to omega3 ratio.
The numbers should be like this (first number is omega6):
Chia Seeds: 0.33:1
Flaxseeds (both whole and ground): 0.28:1Makes quite a difference.
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Chris Beauchamp says:
Have said it before but I’m successfully vegan 27 years and raw for about 6 years. I would never go back to meat eating. Think perhaps people don’t prepare and bring enough food with them. . . or eat enough food when they are hungry. I have brilliant glowing health. . never sick.. It is truly the best way to live..
The cold winters are harsh. . but I dress for it. I also always preplan ahead of time and take food with me whever I go. That way, I’m at no one’s mercy to have something for me. I take care of my needs. . and I’m doing great.
People have in the past and still do make fun of me – - the way I eat. . but I don’t care .. I’m not obese, or sick. . or prematurely aging and on drugs, medication and looking for medicare. I’m not invited or included in lots of things because dietarily I won’t go along with the crowd. In the beginning that was hurtful. I didn’t want to be excluded. . but now, years later, I see my wonderful results. . and their horrible results. . so now I’m glad I was left out. .
I say its a wonderful journey, the path of nature and a natural lifestyle. The food is delicious, rich and flavorful. I eat the best diet in the world and am tremendously grateful. Sickness from the SAD diet brought me to this path. . I would never go back.
Perhaps one day when those folks are nursing their arthritis – - they’ll wish they had stayed with the raw and vegan lifestyle.. Their life – - their choice.
As for me, its vegan and raw all the way.
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I recently had an experience that made me consider not being vegan 100% of the time. I was traveling and every meal was eaten in a restaurant. I noticed how being vegan while traveling can be really hard and in an effort to remain 100% vegan, I ate a lot of unhealthy foods like french fries because after awhile, salads were getting boring. I decided, next time I run into this situation, I will allow myself some fish perhaps. I’m interested to read you do the same. I really don’t want to but I feel like to sacrifice my health to remain true to veganism isn’t a priority. Thanks for sharing your side.
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What I find is usually the biggest factor is that people try doing a 1200 calorie starvation diet when they go vegan. They are so used to incredibly fat and calorie dense meat/cheese centered meals and they aren’t used to eating enough calories from low fat plant foods and don’t attempt to try to.
Excellent points though too Fred.
People typically go vegan for one of the following reasons: health reasons, environmental reasons, or ethical reasons.
People stay vegan when they A.) Embrace all three reasons and B.) Do vegan in a healthy, sustainable way (sufficient calories, low fat, etc.)
Nice article Fred!
P.S. It may just be me, but on my browser the raw-taco recipe link was broken. Just FYI!
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Good stuff, Frederic. I just wanted to say though, that the list of foods you say to avoid are the very ones which are keeping a LOT of people vegan! (Such as Gardein, Daiya cheese and Gimme Lean, which incidentally, is fat free!) Though they aren’t health foods, they are definitely better than the alternative, which for some, is eating meat. (My husband would be lost without Gimme Lean, and my son would literally cry without Daiya.)
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Hey I’m not saying these products are not healthier than the alternative. Of course they are. Daiya cheese is especially convincing and soy-free. But to say these products are healthy, that’s another thing…
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Thanks for your answer. You wrote: “…adding lots of fatty foods to the diet promotes weight gain long-term. Some whole nuts and seeds eaten in moderation don’t promote weight gain.”
I hope you don’t mind me pursuing this. I went vegan when I was 13 yrs old. I’m, now 54ys old. I had a long period being lacto vegetarian, but reurned to veganism when I went 100% raw about thirteen years ago. I lost weight then. I gave up being so strictly raw as in Sweden I found it hard and like the other Chris has written, the worst thing was that other people found it so awkward they stop inviting you to do things.
Anyway, I digress. I know one vegan who has a weight problem, too much of it
…. but she is the exception. All the others I know are thin. AND I myself have a low-weight problem despite eating too much oil, avocados and nuts etc. for decades. I have tried the raw CapNak approach to weight gain without success. When I was lacto-vegetarian I tried the eat-as-much-as-you-can-at-every-mealtime diet. This was when i worked at a vegetarian restaurant in Augsburg, so I was really stuffing it away. But… no success. I just found it easy to drop off to sleep at inconvenient moments.
So… I’m wondering…
How much do you think the metabolism one inherits genetically, influence all this? I have three Uncles who were skinny and two uncles who were slightly overweight most their lives. This despite all of them being regular-eating omnivores/carnivores, eating pretty much the same diet and doing apparently much the same amounts of exercise?
Or else how to explain that I have never put on weight on a high fat vegan/veggie diet. (I’m six foot and and have always weighed about 60kgs) -
trinity says:
I think Natalie went back to eating eggs & dairy because while she was pregnant she craved stuff at the bakery and was tired of being limited. I don’t think she eats meat, where did she say she eats meat? Anyhow, I never liked meat so I don’t miss it, to me its just too gross to eat. Most people tell me they wish they could go veggie but they could never give up their meat. I think a few try and these are the ones that go back. If you love meat, how long can you deny yourself what you love? I know when they tell me how much they love meat, they will ultimately fail. Sometimes they try & it lasts a couple weeks. You don’t need meat to survive or be well, those are excuses that make all the vegans look bad. They use that to make it OK again for them to eat meat because so many believe in that lie.
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Natalie says:
I’ve found, like you wrote, a lack of B12 is what initiates the craving for meat. Many people think it’s lack of iron, but in practice I’ve found it’s a lack of B12.
I’ve heard a lot of veggies & vegans going back to meat for “health reasons” which is either a cop-out or they have a misinformed (or uneducated) doctor. Saying that eating meat is healthy is an oxymoron. I also know people who’s doctor said they had to take shark cartilage for their knees as an excuse to go back to eating meat. There are natural, vegan remedies that work better than animal ones. You just need to know where to look or who to talk to.
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Hi Frederic! I’ve been reading your blog for years, but this is the first time I’ve commented.
I eat a mostly low fat vegan diet that’s high in raw fruits, veggies, and some cooked veggies, as well as grains, beans, and processed products in moderation. I definitely notice a change in my energy levels whenever I’m eating more fat, grains, or beans, so that’s why I eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Thank you for explaining the effect fat can have on the body- even though I knew it was best to eat low fat, I feel like I understand a little bit better about why
I have one little note to make, and I apologize if it comes off as judgmental: I really, really get turned off from vegan articles any time they have a picture of meat in them. I can’t stand looking at it. I know you’re not the first writer to do this, but I just thought I should let you know it can turn a reader off from reading the article. I ignored it, though, because I did want to read.
Anyhoo, I enjoyed reading this
You always have great insights. Thank you. -
Vera says:
Fred,
I realize now that I did not feel 100% as a vegetarian in my 20′s because I have a wheat allergy and I had a diet which was mostly wheat. So what made me feel better going off my diet was not the meat but eating less wheat.
Now I don’t eat wheat and I feel great without meat and 95% animal product free! About one in 120 people have a degree of sensitivity to wheat and the rate at which people are developing this allergy has increased 400 fold since the 1960′s. This is just something that vegetarians or vegans should consider when thinking that animal products are the cure and vegetarianism is the disease. Thanks for all you do, Fred! -
If from what I’ve read is true, it appears everyone has a sensitivity to wheat, some just a lot more than others. Wheat and other gluten grains are probably the worst possible thing you can eat. To think they tout this stuff as a great breakfast! It ruins your digestive system, allows for overworking of your immune system and prevents proper digestion by harming your small intestine. The stuff is just plain nasty. If you do ANYTHING to change your diet make it to reduce or eliminate gluten grains. You’ll live a far healthier life and probably prevent nearly all degenerative diseases known to man.
Wheat is not a natural food for man, how it is that we’ve eaten this stuff for so long and not known about the real harm it causes I really don’t know. -
Sorry fred but you are wrong about omega 6 on flax and chia.
Flax Seeds 3.1:1
Chia seeds 3:1This the oposite, flax and chia has more omega 3 than omega 6.
