I really enjoyed your article. I think you are absolutely right that an ongoing written account of your experience is the perfect way to review the outcome. You seem like an ideal person to evaluate this experiment. You come across as open-minded, intelligent and fair.
I am also glad that you will be researching the facts from the other perspective of meat consumers, otherwise it would not be fair to the subject or your own personal health.
I can tell you, from personal experience, that there is a right way to approach Vegetarianism and Veganism, and there is a wrong way. When I first started out as a Vegetarian, I was young, inexperienced and impulsive. I knew little about nutrition and how the body functions and there were little or no accessible alternatives to meat and dairy products. The result was that I became quite poorly and lost weight.
In time, I deepened my knowledge of the subject and made adjustments accordingly. Also, society began to change and new products became available. Eventually, I took the plunge and became a Vegan-positive (I will explain this term in an article I am currently working on). That was about 8 years ago.
Today, I work for the largest health product supplier in the world and I am involved in a full high-level health education system. I have been meat and dairy free for decades yet, I still do part-time work as a builder. I have more strength and energy than most people I know and I have never had a serious illness in my life. I do not need, and I avoid, any medications other than antibiotics when necessary. Most people of my age have some serious health problem and are on multiple medications.
Along with my Vegan-positive lifestyle, I have made many discoveries about life and health and happiness. My simple personal philosophy in life is to respect all life, human and other, to be positive toward all, and to only consume those foods which occur naturally, as they were intended for me and all human beings. These principles have served me well and I am very happy and productive. When considering any food source, I ask myself a simple question, would I consume this if it was liquidized in a blender?
One thing I would like to mention, when you encounter the inevitable negative information about Veganism, please bare in mind that most people are simply repeating things that they have read or heard. One example is that "Vegans are deficient in Vitamin B12." Even though this vitamin doesn't occur naturally in plants, the fact that most alternative spreads, cereals and drinks contain B12 nowadays means that this argument against a Vegan lifestyle is no longer valid. What such critics tend to ignore is the fact that there are many essential nutrients (Vitamin C for example) that are not found in any meat or dairy sources yet, no one seems to be concerned about meat-eaters being deficient in them. In actual fact, studies have shown that meat-eaters are also deficient in vitamin B12. When I had a complete health check recently, my doctor informed me that, not only were my nutritional levels glowing and abundant (including B12), but that in his experience, most patients with nutrient deficiencies were actually meat-eaters.
I wish you well in your experiment and I would love to hear your conclusions. You show great loyalty and courage undertaking such a change in lifestyle, I do hope you are richly rewarded for it, and I am confident that you will be.
Please keep me informed.
Regards
Moomiin |
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