Becoming vegan!!!!!!!!

[canadacatman]

I want to become a vegan and eat plant based and whole foods. I just watched a movie called Forks Over Knives and I loved it so much I got my whole family to watch it. I have health problems which this says can get rid of. Also I eat too much meat now and I feel really YUCKY!!!(I know sad word for a man to use lol).

I was wondering though I know meat gives you amino acid and you need them to be healthy. What foods would I need to include in my new lifestyle to get them.

Thanks

[EagleRiverDee]

You have to combine foods to get all the essential amino acids. Some amino acids your body can produce, others it can't and those are the essential ones. There are some foods that are more complete than others, though. Generally you have to mix. So, for example, beans and rice together will give you a complete protein. That type of thing. I'm not vegan but eat vegan 2/3 of the time. So there should be vegans here that can give you more info. Bear in mind that you also need to consider B12 and possibly iron if you go vegan because those two nutrients can also be harder to get when eating vegan. There are vegan protein powders that have all the essentials, though, and you can supplement with those.

[canadacatman]

I was thinking maybe I should become a vegetarian before I become full vegan. I was doing some reading online about veganism and from what I read it takes a lot of planning.You can become deficient in some nutrients like b-12,iron,calcium and most important amino acids.

I was wondering how you(vegans here or even vegetarians) get your b-12, Iron(I read that is not too hard men need 10 grams per day) and calcium and make sure you get the amino acids. I know you can take some supplements but I would rather get them naturally. I know mixing grains and beans is a full protein but what if some days you forget to mix will it be very bad for you.

I would like some opinions here from people who have either been vegan or vegetarian for some time who would be kind enough to help me out. please and thanks....

[lucindaarrowspark]

i have been a vegan for 5 plus years now. I do not eat only certain foods together to get "essential amino acids" . My doctor at my last visit 8 months ago took blood and tested me for vitamins bone density scan , the works, Turns out I am healthy but fat. hence i am on these forums. If you want to go vegan I suggest reading "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina.
You can also pm me with questions.

[canadacatman]

I would love to email you but it does not allow it for some reason.
Can you message me first to start the messages then it will allow me to message back..

Thanks

[canadacatman]

I thought there would be more vegans here to lend a hand...

[trisaratops]

I say go for it! However don't expect to go vegan and just automatically lose weight. When I first went vegan (though i eat fish once and a while) I ended up eating a lot of things like french fries, oreos, coconut curries, and other way fattening things and i gained some weight. You still need to count your calories. Other than that, it definitely helps with a lot of health problems, reduces your intake of nasty antibiotics and hormones, helps with environmental issues (did you know that cow farts are a leading cause of greenhouse gasses?), and reduces the horrible treatment of animals. I highly reccomend readingEating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer to learn about some of the non health related reasons for going vegan.

About calcium there a lot of people who argue that milk consumption is actually very bad for your bones. The China study, and others, showed that nations where very little dairy is consumed have lower rates of osteoporosis. This is because the acidity in milk helps to break down bones and the calcium gained isn't enough to replace it. Calcium from veggies is much better for your body. Also its very easy to find things like soy milk, cereals, and orange juice that are enriched with calcium.

As for amino acids, just eat things like beans and rice together or within about 24 of eachother. Beans and carbs in genral do it like hummus and pita or beans in a taco or something like that. Any kind of nut butter and toast, or nuts and oatmeal, Tofu and grains, . So you don't really have to eat these things at the same time, just within the same day.


Plus there are TONS of DELICIOUS vegan recipes out there. One thing though is you need to make some time to cook so that you don't end up eating rice and beans every day.

[trisaratops]

I say go for it! However don't expect to go vegan and just automatically lose weight. When I first went vegan (though i eat fish once and a while) I ended up eating a lot of things like french fries, oreos, coconut curries, and other way fattening things and i gained some weight. You still need to count your calories. Other than that, it definitely helps with a lot of health problems, reduces your intake of nasty antibiotics and hormones, helps with environmental issues (did you know that cow farts are a leading cause of greenhouse gasses?), and reduces the horrible treatment of animals. I highly reccomend readingEating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer to learn about some of the non health related reasons for going vegan.

About calcium there a lot of people who argue that milk consumption is actually very bad for your bones. The China study, and others, showed that nations where very little dairy is consumed have lower rates of osteoporosis. This is because the acidity in milk helps to break down bones and the calcium gained isn't enough to replace it. Calcium from veggies is much better for your body. Also its very easy to find things like soy milk, cereals, and orange juice that are enriched with calcium.

As for amino acids, just eat things like beans and rice together or within about 24 of eachother. Beans and carbs in genral do it like hummus and pita or beans in a taco or something like that. Any kind of nut butter and toast, or nuts and oatmeal, Tofu and grains, . So you don't really have to eat these things at the same time, just within the same day.


Plus there are TONS of DELICIOUS vegan recipes out there. One thing though is you need to make some time to cook so that you don't end up eating rice and beans every day.