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Thoughts on Veganism?

SunnyDaysWithAlex

Member
Hi there,

I started the whole foods plant-based diet at the end of October and was wondering if anybody else has been vegan for a while and it has worked for them. I am trying to follow the High Carb Low Fat version. I tried low carb diet for 6 months before that and ended up not feeling very good from it.

I'm on a continual health journey so I am always looking for what works best for me.

Thanks!
 
I have researched veganism and wfpb an awful lot recently. They are different and distinct. I believe this chap is the most prominent proponent of wfpb and sums up the differences between this and following a vegan diet:


Good luck on your journey.
 
Thank you for sending that video! I've done quite a bit of research myself and am currently trying out the Mastering Diabetes Program and it's a Whole Foods Plant Based Diet that is High carb and low fat and it is working so far for me. And I'm making sure I'm getting all my vitamins and minerals in. So far so good. And my sugars are really stable and I'm becoming more insulin sensitive which is awesome!
 
Great to hear. I take ques from various protocols, so have quite a lot of vegetables, nuts and seeds and berries. If they weren't so caloric I would happily eat nuts all day.
 
SunnyDaysWithAlex said:
And my sugars are really stable and I'm becoming more insulin sensitive which is awesome!
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Congratulations on taking control of your diabetes. Low carb appears to give good results for T2s, but that is a completely different illness to T1. Personally, I've concentrated on low gi foods with moderately low carbs (100g per day?) which sort of works for me, (always room for improvement!), but I would find it very hard to give up cheese. It's interesting to see alternative diets which work for others.

I'm sort of confused by diet, to be honest, I've had so much conflicting information from dieticians. Currently I'm just working on the principle that anything with added sugar is bad (which cuts out most processed food). I can't eat rice or pizza, because they spike me horribly. I've got an appointment with a dietician in January, so will see what she says about current recommendations (and treat it with a certain amount of skepticism because they seem to change radically every ten years.)
 
You are so right! It has been a true journey finding what foods work for me and trying different diets. I hope your appointment with the dietician goes well! We can do this! I guess just the best thing we can do is take it a day at a time.
 
Mbaker said:
Great to hear. I take ques from various protocols, so have quite a lot of vegetables, nuts and seeds and berries. If they weren't so caloric I would happily eat nuts all day.
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That's awesome. It's nice being able to slowly make a diet to fine tune to your body.
 
I tried low carb for around 6 months. I ate fish, eggs, little red meat, avocado, wraps that were gluten free but low carb, greens, veggies, coconut meat/oil/milk, nuts and any other carbs I would eat in small amounts with greens and avocado. What do you eat and suggest? I am always open to different lifestyles and diets and what works best for the individual.
 
Do you think you were eating enough fat? If I don’t have enough fat I don’t feel good either. I eat less than 20c per day in above ground veggies, avocado and nuts, MODERATE amounts of protein (43-45g per day) and just enough fat to satisfy.
 
I was eating a lot of fat for sure. Every time I ate the meals I would feel like my digestive processes would stop moving or it would slow down a lot and I didn't feel energized just sluggish. Maybe my body just doesn't process a lot of fat very well.
 

All animal based food with no plant derived food works for me. Mostly beef, some pork, some cheese, some eggs.
 
I eat pretty much vegetables, although I do include butter/cheese and 2 days with fish.
I did low(er) carb all my adult life. No problems with that but my insides-stomach/colon doesnt like to push through meat
and pastry, bread etc or leafy veg or veg with shells.

So most of my veg is butternut, broccoli, celeriac, parsnips, carrots, courgette, asparagus. 90% of my meals are just those veg. Higher carbs than previously but I only eat one meal a day..unless enticed to eat more due to circumstances...

I too check my nutrition with vitamins and minerals...

Not all vegan or plant based as I really go for food to give me nutrition and fair
digestion.

I believe in trying to help my body with previous cancer (hopefully now removed).. so I add turmeric to practically all my food daily and also have Pomi-t capsules and find I feel better with these additions but this could be a placebo effect.

I follow Prof Robert Thomas as he has good advice that can be done for health as a whole, not just diabetes..
 
I eat an 80% fat diet but not a lot at one time and plant fats like avocado, mayo, olives seem to suit me much better than loads of butter, bacon, chicken skins etc. I need multiple small meals throughout the day or I felt the same, digestion stops. Unfortunatly for me, as I LOVE all veggies, very few love me and none do in large quantities. All the silly nuances ....
 
I’ve had to stop eating meat and dairy in the last year because my wonky immune system has made me allergic to it So I eat vegan when I’m out as it’s safest for me, although at home I eat fish and eggs. I’m finding it hard to work out how to cover low GI foods such as lentils etc - I batch cook from scratch so it’s not a simple case of reading carb content off the back of a packet!
 
Hi - be interested to see how you get on but also wanted to ask why veganism? Are you against animal products for moral reasons for example? I try to be low carb on the basis that calculating insulin bolus for carbs is a variable I can do without but have to confess that my blood sugars are only marginally better. I suppose there are many other variables (exercise and hormones are my main confounders!).
This is such an individual thing so carry on with the experimenting!
My only comment is from a general health point of view you would have to be careful and supplement such vitamins as A, K2 and B12 which you may not be able to get enough of on a vegan diet. I can see no valid evidence that aninal fat/dairy is globally harmful though you may have an individual intolerance of the latter.
So if you try this but find you have difficulty matching insulin to all the starch or are noticing symptoms such as bad teeth, hair loss it would be totally valid to re assess. As many have pointed out based on research of current day 'primitive' peoples (hunter.gatherers) there are no humans who ate an exclusively vegetarian diet which should tell us something about eating this way without supplements.
BTW if you are doing this for moral reasons Liere Keith (ex vegan) 'The Vegetarian Myth might give you pause for thought and is interesting on the health aspects.
 
I have been vegetarian for approx 7 months and making vegan choices whenever possible.

After 2 months my cholesterol and blood pressure lowered and my kidney/liver function improved!

My diabetes control hasn’t changed but these additional health benefits can only improve long term health!

There are plenty of veggie fast food alternatives... many high fat and calories... god **** those vegan mac cheese burgers with bacon... you can eat still Oreos, bacon frazzles, pink Pringles!

I have a house rabbit and we shared meals! My skin is better and I haven’t really craved things I thought I would.

It’s much easier to be veggie/vegan these days! Everything has nutrition info for carb counting etc. Oat milk and soya milk are delicious! OMG Alpro choc ‘milk’!

I haven’t feel bloated or had indigestion since I turned!

Take b12 supplements (diabetes nurse recommended vegan tablets from Holland and Barret). When it’s BOGOF you can get 4 months worth for £7.

Our furred, feathered and finned friends will thank you!

People have many reasons for making the change - I decided that there was too much pain and suffering in the world and I did not want to be responsible for any of it.

My physical health improved almost instantly.

We have evolved to survive in all sorts of environments.. unlike carnivores our jaws move horizontally (like a plant eater grinding plants up) as well as up and down (like a T. rex enjoying a Big Mac).
 
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NoCrbs4Me said:
I wouldn't recommend it for health reasons.
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Oddly, my mum (non diabetic.) was a vegetarian for over 30 years. Infact for a number of years she went full on vegan. Purely on principle. I respected her choice & suported her cause..
She was a non smoker, didn't drink, active. 5 years ago diagnosed with Alziemers.. Her lifestyle "officially" didn't fit the profile..

I noticed a few things "wrong," but one that stood out was she started eating meat..
There have been autopsies done on Altzimer patient brains & there has been a discovery of " insulin resistance" in the brain..(I believe they dubbed it "type 3?)
Since her more varied diet, her condition hasn't progressed... I just wish she could cut the carbs back a little more.

Don't get me wrong, I respect all personal choices..

From what I've read (regarding my mum.) in the long term, was it well thought out....?
Our mother is physically well for her age. & cared for in a family environment by her family.
I respect choices & would never disparage. Personally? My "jury" is out on plant & grain diets..

Sorry guys! (I sort of almost lost someone I knew.)
 
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