Going Vegan

[Holmlund]

I've been reading Dr Barnard's book and am seriously thinking of trying the vegan diet/lifestyle. As with most of us, I've been trying to eat healthy but realize now I'm still sabotauging myself with the extra things.

I'm can handle most of his eating suggestions - low GI, low fat, no meat new 4 food groups. It\s the no dairy and eggs that I'm finding hard to cope with. No cheese? No yogurt? No cream products? I know there's lots of milk substitues out there and I'm ready to try them, but the rest of the goodies?


For the vegans out there, how did you handle the transition? What secrets to survival have you learned? Any suggestions or warnings?

And what's the deal with tofu? Is it the miracle saviour some are toting it to be, or is it death in a can like others say?

Thanks, Ken

[raffi]

And what's the deal with tofu? Is it the miracle saviour some are toting it to be, or is it death in a can like others say?

Soy products will no doubt help out quite a bit with what you are choosing to limit yourself to. The thing with soy, and why you hear both good and bad about it, is there is a relationship between soy products and thyroid issues. If you have a family history of thyroid issues, you might want to research carefully before adding a lot of soy to your diet.

[foxl]

Raffi, Can you please provide some links to literature about this? Because I have searched and searched, and all I can find is articles about malabsorption of T4 when consumed with soy foods.

I keep hearing rumors ... but that is ALL!

[raffi]

Raffi, Can you please provide some links to literature about this? Because I have searched and searched, and all I can find is articles about malabsorption of T4 when consumed with soy foods.

I keep hearing rumors ... but that is ALL!

I have come across various things, but I can't put my hand to one at the moment. None of them were clear cut soy cause thyroid issues. They were much more along the lines of soy might aggravate thyroid issues. Since my wife has some thyroid issues, we have been trying to avoid soy (not easy to do with the amount soy oil is used these days).

I will see if I can find any the more concrete studies I have read. Seems to me it was usually mentioned as a side issue on some other study. If I find one, I will post.

[fgummett]

Any suggestions or warnings?

I'd suggest that you consider reading Lierre Keith's book "The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice and Sustainability". As a long time (but no longer) vegan herself she has much to offer on the subject. I offer this purely for the sake of balance... for myself I like to hear both sides of any discussion before making my choices.

[foxl]

Let me know ... I have looked and looked!

I DO eat tofu and other soy products; they do not seem even to interfere with absorption of T4 in me. But then nothing does seem to ... supposed to take it on an empty stomach, and everything ...

[fgummett]

The concerns I have read regarding soy are firstly that there is just so much of it in our food chain these days (as raffi mentioned -- hard to avoid), that it is high in omega 6s (the potentially pro-inflammatory omega fatty acid) -- or conversely is too low in omega 3s... so we end up unbalanced. And that unless fermented or sprouted, it contains anti-nutrients that can rob the body of necessary minerals. I also read that in Asian countries it was only ever more of a condiment than a main course and often accompanied with seaweed (?) that would help mitigate some of the effects listed above.

[raffi]

A quick search turned up Soy & the thyroid, no idea if this is a good source or not, but glancing at it, it looks a lot like things I have read other places.

How's that for not committing to anything

[raffi]

Here's another article on the other side and related directly to vegan eating.

Being Vegan and Eating Soy: Myths, Truths, and Everything in Between

[foxl]

A quick search turned up Soy & the thyroid, no idea if this is a good source or not, but glancing at it, it looks a lot like things I have read other places.

How's that for not committing to anything

Mmmm ... this is the sort of site I have hit, when I searched, too. Not sure how their cred is, compared with, say, Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine.

[raffi]

The stuff that looks more modern seem to play down the relationship. Here's another one that talks about the original study (from the 30s) and clarifies where a risk might still exist.

Soy & Thyroid Function: Safety Issues Examined, Soy Isoflavones, Soy Protein Isolate - United Soybean Board

Of course, being a soy industry type thing, it's hard to know if it can be trusted.

This one looks more balanced, and since it agrees with my original statement, seems like a good one to end on.

Effects of Soy Protein and Soybean Isoflavones on Thyroid Function in Healthy Adults and Hypothyroid Patients – Research Review | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald

[foxl]

Yes -- that is a far cry from "Soy is evil!" like I keep hearing ... thanks!

[notme]

I eat soy rarely. My sister was diagnosed with an estrogen positive cancer (breast) and her doctors told her to avoid soy. I don't put a red X on soy products, I just eat it very sparingly.

[Mussakka]

I feel your pain! We started transitioning to a vegan diet at the end of March. It began as a confluence of different things, but helping with weight and diabetes are certainly added benefits. As of the middle of May, we're totally vegan.

Finding options and replacing foods is a challenge, especially when you combine vegan with lower carb. I can think of tons of things to do/eat with rice, pasta, or bread, but in reducing use of those I've had to get really creative.

Please bear in mind that I have reduced my carb intake, but I haven't eliminated them completely. Reducing portions and combining lower GI carbs with fats, acids, and/or protein helps.

Things I've found helpful so far are meat replacement products, particularly the Gardein brand. Their 'chicken' scallopini and 'beef' tips (chunks, cubes?) are really good and have a nice meaty feel.

Tofutti Sour Cream is great. I make a mean mushroom stroganoff (thanks to veganyumyum) using it. It is high in fat, so I don't use it a lot, but it's excellent in that dish. There are a lot of other really good recipes on that site too.

We eat a lot of beans. Lunch is often a refried bean burrito, using a low carb tortilla. I add a few side veggies and a bit of fruit and it's good.

Daiya makes vegan cheese shreds that are pretty good. They even melt like cheese. I've tried the cheddar version, but they have a mozzarella version too. Also, nutritional yeast (not brewer's yeast) has a buttery/cheesy kind of flavor and is a source of vitamin B-12.

I've scoured vegan blogs and cookbooks and adopt what I can to our eating habits and preferences. We enjoy seitan, tofu, tempeh, and vegetarian sausages, so that helps. All of those ingredients are flexible and can be used in so many dishes.

We've also been expanding our horizons with produce. I'd never tried kohlrabi before, but I have now.

I hope this gets easier, because I get frustrated and discouraged when trying to come up with things to eat each week, especially without getting too repetitive.

I'm going to stick with this for a while and see how things go. If it proves to be just flat out too impractical, then I might revise to ovo-lacto vegetarian. That would add eggs and cheese, thus opening a whole realm of possibilities.

HTH

[xMenace]

I personally don't care how you achieve a low carb diet, as long as it's low carb. I really don't know how to do that with low fat though as high protein will translate into high carb production. The theory seems to be that natural carbs with high fibre take longer to digest, so you don't get huge insulin spikes. That's all well and good, but you will still get high insulin levels. Weight maintenace and good sugars maybe; weight loss I have serious doubts unless you go into starvation mode. If I was to try it, and it is something I'me always thinking about, I think lots of nuts and EVOO would be staples.

I don't eat soy because of the taste. Really, it makes me go *yuck!* I've tried various forms. The seeds are easiest to spit.