Veganism

[VOW]

I became Vegan for Lent. I was diagnosed diabetic in December, and I also have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I knew I had to take charge of my health, and from the research I've done online, I discovered that a Vegan diet can have a tremendous positive effect, not only on blood sugar, but also blood cholesterol and blood pressure.

I have already lost over ten pounds following the Vegan diet, and this upcoming Friday I am having labwork done. In a week, I'll find out from my doctor just how MUCH the Vegan diet has done for my health.

Anyone interested in Vegan??


Peace be with you,
~VOW

 

[MissytheButterfly]

Wow Vow.. no I am not a vegan or interested in becoming one.. but I do own a CD rom with Vegan recipes on it.. I will post some for you soon.

And I hope your labwork checks out well!!! Take care!

Missy

 

[Miss Shelby]

I'm curious about this vegan diet, VOW? What is it?

Michelle

 

[Auntie]

Vegan might be good for a temp diet, kind of like a fast. But long term, I don't think so. It's too hard to get enough protein. I think it's better to have a balanced diet from all the food groups.

The worst offenders, imo, are processed foods, like canned soup, gravy mixes, Cool Whip, etc. All those additives, artificial ingredients and refined carbs can't be good for you. I also try to stay away from fried foods, sugar, and margarine.

 

[MissytheButterfly]

Alllllll not the cool whip! It's good.. LOL! But seriously I do think all foods like that should be limited but to totally deprive yourself is only going to make one want it more.. so it's best to eat some of it within moderation.

There is this great diet called the 90/10 weightloss plan. You eat 90 percent healthy and 10 percent snacks like chips, pretzels, cupcake, etc. This diet worked out for me perfectly. I ate good foods on it but I still got my snacks! And I didn't feel deprived! And yes, I lost weight. You can find out about that diet here if anyone is interested: www.joyofnutrition.com/news.html I am going back on this diet after I have my baby..

The funny thing is that I didn't feel like I was on any diet at all. Of course I increased my exercise. I have an in home gym so it was easy for me.. but I definitely suggest walking if you don't have in home gym or can't go to a public gym. Walking is a great way to exercise, it's safe, and it's free. And drink lots of water!

Now of course, I am not diabetic. So Vow, I think you should just do whatever your physician says is best for you. Please keep this thread updated, I would be interested in what your doc says about you being vegan and diabetic.

Missy

 

[VOW]

To Auntie:

Contrary to popular belief, Vegan is EXTREMELY healthy. In fact, a study was done on volunteers to see how a Vegan diet stands up against the standard American Diabetic Association exchange diet. While both groups of participants lost weight, the Vegans lost more, and also significantly lowered their cholesterol, blood glucose levels, and blood pressure.

If a Vegan consumes enough calories, then adequate protein will also be attained. More than adequate intake of zinc, calcium, and other minerals will be accomplished as well. The ONLY risk that Vegans have is not obtaining enough B12. However, supplementation of the Vegan diet with Nutritional Yeast (NOT baker's yeast or brewer's yeast) will assure ample B12.


To Miss Shelby:

Veganism is also called "strict Vegetarianism," in that the person consumes NO animal products whatsoever. That means no milk, no cheese, and no eggs. For a person who is following a Vegan diet for moral or sociological reasons, oftentimes he or she will also exclude honey and refined sugar.

You can't eat a healthy diet with refined foods or fast foods. A person claiming Veganism won't be able to survive on french fries, white bread, and jelly. However, if a conscious effort is made to eat whole grains, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and some sort of protein source such as soy, the Vegan diet is much more healthy than the Standard American Diet.


To Missy:

I'd LOVE to see some of the recipes you have!!



Peace be with you,
~VOW

 

[Loki]

My dad's vegan (except for the fish and chicken he occasionally eats) because of health reasons, also. No butter, eggs, cheese, red meat, pork, any of that jazz. He also excludes partially hydrogenated anything from his diet, because structurally it's the same as a saturated fat. trans-fatty acids are good to stay away from, also, because they lose the structural benefits that a cis-fatty acid has (stearic hinderance).

To all the protein nay-sayers:

Hummus:
Do you like hummus? Hummus has wonderful uses. You can even make your own hummus. It's chickpeas (garbanzo beans), about 2 lbs, cooked. Add 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp tahini, 2 tbsp cumin (or cumin seeds) 3-5 tbsp bean liquid (from teh garbanzo beans; strain, separate liquid, and add back to achieve consistency). This should all be done in blender.

Chickpeas:
Roast with olive oil and salt.

Refried beans:
Pinto beans (in water is easiest), use some olive oil, put some flour in it, to make a brownish paste, and then pour the beans into the skillet. Mush them up to your desired consistency; add tabasco or onions or other seasonings if that's your thing. Goes nicely in flour tortillas, and can make a great, quick dry burrito with some lettuce and tomato and salsa, etc.

Tofu:
Tofu has wonderful possibilities if prepared correctly. Sauteeing it with hash browns or some veggies is really good (cayenne and oregano are my preferred spices). I'd go for the extra firm; it has the best texture.

You can use tofu in a stir fry.

Grill fresh veggies and season with italian dressing (ala shisk kebab); sautee some tofu on the range; serve over a bed of brown rice.

Curry also goes nicely with the chickpeas and tofu.

Rice and beans together provide all the amino acids required for protein synthesis. No need to worry about protein.

Congrats on the lifestyle change, and I hope it pays off in improved health.

 

[Loki]

More recipes that are healthy in general:

Onion salad. I know, it sounds horrendous, but it's actually quite good.

Slice up an onion into your preferred onion piece shape (rings, chunks, whatever). Add a couple tbsp ketchup and vinegar (balsalmic is nice) and mix up until it coats onion pieces. Add salt, and pepper to taste.

Tomato salad. Use a tomato or two. Chunk. Add salt, pepper, and sugar. The juice provides its own dressing. Add onion if you're an onion person. Basil goes nicely with tomato, too.

The great thing about those salads is that it takes abot 3 minutes to whip up and they make a nice snack or light lunch.

Granted, yoghurt's not vegan, but it's possible to get lowfat/nofat yoghurt, and if you're doing it on heath reasons, this might be an exception worth making.

A really yummy breakfast, made with yoghurt:

1 individual packet, some orange juice, and maybe a banana or other blend-able fruit. Blend. Drink.

Hope this gives you some ideas for vegan kitchen creativity.

 

[Auntie]

31st March 2003 at 01:38 PM VOW said this in Post #1


I have already lost over ten pounds.....

VOW, I forgot to tell you, congratulations on the ten pounds!

I know how that first ten pounds is a major success!!

And best wishes & prayers that your test results come back good!

 

[MissytheButterfly]

Vow, I will post some soon. Lately, I have been busy getting ready for this baby..only 5 more weeks of pregnancy to gooooooooo!

Missy

 

[VOW]

To Loki:

Thanks for all the great ideas!! I'm drooling in the keyboard here!

I've been fixing a "fake meat" called Seitan, which is made from wheat protein. It takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with, like tofu, and it has a meat-like texture to it.

In place of yogurt, I've been buying soy yogurt. I REALLY don't like it, but once I load it up with Splenda, fruit-only jam, a couple of dried blueberries, plus my bran and flax seeds, it's not too bad. Healthy stuff, too.

I've been using the Ezekiel breads, too. They are made with sprouted grains, so they don't raise the blood sugar like regular flour products.

And Missy.....concentrate on that baby, okay??



Peace be with you,
~VOW

 

[Pistos Ergon]

My observation: Christians seem to allow a person to be a vegan for any reason except religious ones. If that is the reason, they go ballistic.

Go vegans!

Religious Reasons for Veganism
http://library.thinkquest.org/C004833/religion_en.shtml


Other Reasons for Veganism
http://library.thinkquest.org/C004833/reasons_en.shtml

 

[ZiSunka]

The More With Less Cookbook has a lot of great vegan recipes, and it helps you figure out how to get all the essential amino acids by combining grains and beans and such. And the recipes are tasty , too.

 

[Pistos Ergon]

I'm hungry.