Vegan Diet

I have been on a vegan diet for the past two years. I also read 'The China Study" and it made total sense to me. I have also read "Anti-Cancer" and "Food for Life". I believe that this diet is the absolute best thing you can do for your health. It is not JUST a healthy lifestyle, but it is also kind and eco friendly. Animals get to live and the environment benefits.

I have read that only about .5% of the American population is vegan so you are sure to get lots of people that tell you that a vegan diet is stupid. To me, it a a form of enlightenment.

Good luck on your healthy lifestyle. 

I was a raw vegan for two years before my cancer diagnosis. As a health nut and as an animal lover, I definitely understand the appeal. (I, too, was greatly influenced by The China Study since I initially read it without considering how flawed the core research is.) In the short term (e.g. on a seasonal basis), raw veganism in particular is immensely healthier than the SAD (Standard American Diet), as long as you don't consume "junk vegan" products that are loaded with soy or designed to be "fake meat" etc. and focus on fresh, local, in-season, organic vegetables, not grains.

After my cancer diagnosis and a lot more research, I no longer believe that long-term/permanent veganism is healthy for humans.

I won't slam veganism here and as a former vegan I would never in a million years call it "stupid," because everyone must do their own research and do what's right for them, but in a nutshell, 100% veganism deprives humans of nutrients that are essential for healthy brain function (show me a 20-year vegan who hasn't cheated and I'll show you someone who has had chronic depression for the last 15+ years), as well as cancer-fighting and other important nutrients.

Two books that influenced my realization that 100% veganism is not healthy for humans were The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith (a former vegan for something like 20 years) and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. I urge you to read them before making a decision that could have dire consequences for your physical and mental health.

All that said... I will never consume factory-farmed animal products again -- EVER -- and, I do think that a mostly vegan diet is extremely healthy for humans.

In the summer when local organic produce is at its most abundant, I tend to be close to 100% vegan aside from my daily two pastured (hormone-free) eggs. I go with what's in season locally (which turns out to be what the human body needs anyway), and for the rest of the year that includes some animal products from local grass-fed animals that are well cared for and loved and live the life they are meant to live. I am a lot healthier now than I was while I was a vegan (and the depression I battled for years is a thing of the past).

I agree with all here, and particularly with CrunchyPoodleMama and Impostitive - that a vegan/veg diet is vastly healthier but that some, limited meat consumption must be a part of life for health.

I have lived most of the past 11 years as what I call a carnivorous vegetarian, meaning my daily intake is overwhelmingly fresh fruit and veg - mostly seasonal - but I never gave up dairy, seafood and eggs. I also did/do succumb to the occasional bit of ethical beef and chicken, but in small amounts. I do this not just for health but because its what I like to eat, so no judgements on my pals who love a giant steak or are fully vegan. To each his own.

In fact I have to say that I'm mystified at how my veggie-rich diet, which has been combined with regular exercise and no real family history of cancer, landed me in BC-land, and I've seen by posts on these forums that I'm not the only one scrating my head.

More than that confusion, I feel betrayed by my body and scared that no matter what I do cancer happens...and could happen again.

I don't really plan to, but I've thought (after examining the lifestyles of others in my life) perhaps I should drink alcohol daily, smoke, eat whatever I want and I'll be ok. Crazy, and frustrating.

Sorry for venting - but does anyone else feel like this? Its maddening and I have to not let myself go there.

Michelle and impositive, I am another one who ate organic foods regularly, consumed a lot of vegetables, no family history,exercised, never overweight, and a general "health nut" prior to BC. Perhaps I knew that one day I would face a health crisis.... who knows?

I am mystified that it happened to me, and so are all my friends and family.  As for your comments about sugar and grains, impositive, I think you are on to something. I battled IBS-D for 5 years, bounced from internist, OB, general practitioner, and no one told me to try a gluten/sugar free diet. Once diagnosed with BC, my new nutritionist gave me the no gluten/sugar diet and my IBS disappeared immediately. I firmly believed it was all linked, as I was severely malnourished due to the IBS. Your friend would do well to cut it out of her diet, as I am convinced it was the root of a lot of my problems.

 And, yes, Michelle, tempting to live on the wild side, as my friends who never seemed to care about diet or exercise seem to be healthier than me?!?  I am falling back on the idea that I've always somehow known--on a cellular level-- that I might face a health scare like this one day......