Veganism

Search the web for the right way to eat and you'll surely find nothing but frustration. I spent a decent portion of last year eating vegan after watching "Forks Over Knives". My greatest ambition is to be around to watch my kids grow and to live a long healthy life with my wife. I know that eating well is an important part of that formula. But defining what it means to "eat well" is far from simple.

If you're considering veganism, allow me to share my experiene with you. I didn't personally find it hard  to eat vegan. The only thing I really missed was ice cream. I actually found it much harder to follow the paleo diet because avoiding bread and pastas cuts out a substantial part of my regular diet. The thing that bothered me most about veganism was that even the book "Forks Over Knives" reccommends that you supplement with a B12 vitamin.

My instant thought was that the perfect human diet should not require any sort of supplementation. The diet should be complete with all the nutrients that the human body needs. So by defintion, the vegan diet must be lacking something. This is explained by Dr. Campbell as being a result of vegetables being washed so much. According to him we could get B12 from.... well.... dirt. I'm not saying that he's wrong, the truth is I don't know. And I have every reason to believe that somebody as educated as him is right, except for the fact that there are plenty of people of equal knowledge base who disagree with him.

Veganism was also an expensive way to eat for me. I've heard a few times that this shouldn't be the case, so maybe it was bad shopping on our part but you may find the same thing.

Lastly, I had one episode of extreme stomach discomfort. When I say extreme, I mean absolutely crippling. Maybe it was because I wasn't eating enough variety, maybe it was because I just ate something bad. I really don't know, but it got my attention.

The short of it is that I too am searching for the diet that gives me the most energy, and the best chance of future health. I certainly haven't found the answer through online research, so I'm taking to my own personal experiences, and veganism was not the answer for me.

As a brief illustration of how differing the oppinions of nutrition are. Most people believe Milk, which is high in calcium, helps with bone health. But do a little digging online and you'll find studies that suggest just the opposite. That in fact the acidity of milk causes bones to release calcium in order to counteract the acidic elements of milk, thereby actually decreasing bone density. I don't know where the truth is, but it's a perfect illustration of how hard it is to find the right answer. And yes... of course there are those who give up on looking and just say "everything in moderation". But I think that answer is just a bit too broad. Twinkies and soda in moderation may not kill you, but they're certainly not helpful.