Return of the Omnivore

Healthy Food Nutrition
#1

During the last part of 2011 and all of 2012 up until this past weekend I have been toying with the idea of vegetarianism and veganism. I was for most of that time what can be defined as a Pescatarian (pescetarian) with a few attempts into vegetarianism and a couple of tries at veganism. I have also had a few trips to the restaurant where I ate a little beef or pork but for the most part I have been incredibly close to the text book definition of Pescatarian, basically I also had white meat not fish.

Now last week I noticed was tired and ran out of energy rather quickly and wanted a nap by 10:00 in the morning (which is not a good thing to do at work) and realized that this had been going on for a while. Also I pretty much did not feel all that good. Last weekend I said the heck with it and decided that I would once again be what humans are?.Omnivores.

I have had more energy and felt much better this week than I have in a long time. I also have the drive to exercise and it is not a chore like it has been of late

Now I am not saying that vegetarians or vegans feel bad (meaning not healthy) and I am not saying that vegetarianism or Veganism is bad?. I know a Vegan that is incredibly healthy and a Yoga teacher/therapist and I have vegetarians in my family that are incredibly healthy too.

I guess all I can say I learned from this is that being a vegetarian and even more so a Vegan is incredibly complicated as it applies to diet to get all the things you need in a diet. I have also learned that I am no good at keeping track of such things and that it is so much easier for me to be an Omnivore.

Now if you will excuse me I am going to go home and have some ham

#2

Running out of energy migt be actually due to a lack in carbohydrates. A simple solution when you are fatigued: honey.

#3

[QUOTE=oak333;77391]Running out of energy migt be actually due to a lack in carbohydrates. A simple solution when you are fatigued: honey.[/QUOTE]

Thank You… but…

Believe me, I was not lacking carbohydrates and I was using, and still use honey in my tea and I take a teaspoon of local honey a day. I added more meat protien and things got better and have stayed that way.

#4

Well, the vegetarians have actually more energy than the omnivors. There are several factors causing that. One factor is simple the fact that the digestion of meats requires
lots of energy.

You need cca 0.8 grams of proteins per 1 Kg of your body for normal body needs. Heavy exercise needs more, like 1.6 grams of proteins per 1 Kg of body. Professional body builders (Schwartzenegger) need even more, cca 2.4 grams of protein per 1 Kg of body.

You can well have these amounts of proteins fron veggies.

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm

I suspect lack of iron. Veggies have lots of iron eg spinach, but you can hardly absorb
much of the iron in the veggies (bioavailability). Iron from red meats is well absorbed.

Why don’t you check if you are not simply anemic ?

#5

Since i became vegetarian i never became so full after a meal that i had to lie down in the sofa and unbutton my jeans, this happened a lots of times when i ate meat. I also got tired after eating the meat. But not anymore since quitting meat.

I guess you didnt eat correct vegetarian food and maybe it was lacking in protein.

#6

please allow me to repeat myself

I am not saying that vegetarians or vegans feel bad (meaning not healthy) and I am not saying that vegetarianism or Veganism is bad?. I know a Vegan that is incredibly healthy and a Yoga teacher/therapist and I have vegetarians in my family that are incredibly healthy too.

I guess all I can say I learned from this is that being a vegetarian and even more so a Vegan is incredibly complicated as it applies to diet to get all the things you need in a diet. I have also learned that I am no good at keeping track of such things and that it is so much easier for me to be an Omnivore.

#7

[QUOTE=oak333;77424]Well, the vegetarians have actually more energy than the omnivors. There are several factors causing that. One factor is simple the fact that the digestion of meats requires
lots of energy.

You need cca 0.8 grams of proteins per 1 Kg of your body for normal body needs. Heavy exercise needs more, like 1.6 grams of proteins per 1 Kg of body. Professional body builders (Schwartzenegger) need even more, cca 2.4 grams of protein per 1 Kg of body.

You can well have these amounts of proteins fron veggies.

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm

I suspect lack of iron. Veggies have lots of iron eg spinach, but you can hardly absorb
much of the iron in the veggies (bioavailability). Iron from red meats is well absorbed.

Why don’t you check if you are not simply anemic ?[/QUOTE]

Once you establish that you are not anemic, proceed to the next step:

determine if you are not deficient in L-carnitine. Simplest way is to take a
supplement for a while and see how you feel (tired or not).

Carnitine plays an important role in cell energy production.

Careful: acetyl L-carnitine is banned in Canada, but not in USA

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Carnitine-HealthProfessional/

#8

[QUOTE=oak333;77544]Once you establish that you are not anemic, proceed to the next step:

determine if you are not deficient in L-carnitine. Simplest way is to take a
supplement for a while and see how you feel (tired or not).

Carnitine plays an important role in cell energy production.

Careful: acetyl L-carnitine is banned in Canada, but not in USA

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Carnitine-HealthProfessional/[/QUOTE]

I’m am not anemic

But the rest of your post makes my point… it is too complicated for me. Meaning I simply do not want to put the effort into it when eating like our anatomy is made for is much easier and less complicated for me.

Thank you for the advice and hopefully someone else will come along and use it but I am simply no longer interested in trying

#9

Gad, 'twere moi chagrined when I read the ingredients on my yogurt; it contains gelatin.

#10

“when I read the ingredients on my yogurt, it contains gelatin.” :slight_smile:

Yogurt I eat is Stonyfield. My lemon yogurt contains cultured pasteurized organic nonfat milk, naturally milled organic sugar, organic lemon juice, pectin, vitamin D, organic stevia extract and 6 live active yogurt and probiotic cultures. Great stuff for the digestive tract!

#11

[QUOTE=Lavendar;81954]“when I read the ingredients on my yogurt, it contains gelatin.” :slight_smile:

Yogurt I eat is Stonyfield. My lemon yogurt contains cultured pasteurized organic nonfat milk, naturally milled organic sugar, organic lemon juice, pectin, vitamin D, organic stevia extract and 6 live active yogurt and probiotic cultures. Great stuff for the digestive tract![/QUOTE]

I make my own kefir and it is great. It is a lot more potent than the yoghurt,
ie it contains a lot more enzymes that yoghurt.

My recipe is simple : buy kefir from the food store (it looks almost like yoghurt). Boil your milk (1-2 liters) at medium heat (5 on my stove). Before reaching the boiling point, probably around 80 degrees centigrades, take the milk out from the stove and let it cool down for 5-7 hrs. It has to be at room temperature. If it is a littlew warmer, tke kefir will be bad.

Add 1-2 table spoons of kefir and let it stay cca 36 hrs in a quiet, dark place
(inside a buffett, eg). Enjoy it.

The milk should be a little fat, ie no less than 3.5 % fat.

If you want to, you can read a lot about it here:

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html

#12

[QUOTE=SCMT;77556]I’m am not anemic

But the rest of your post makes my point… it is too complicated for me. Meaning I simply do not want to put the effort into it when eating like our anatomy is made for is much easier and less complicated for me.

Thank you for the advice and hopefully someone else will come along and use it but I am simply no longer interested in trying[/QUOTE]

You are actually right. IT IS COMPLICATED. But you can simply go to a good
naturopathic doctor, which will send you to a lab for analysis of basic elements and nutrients in your body.

The human body is made of 16 elements. If only one is in severe deficiency or in severe excess, you will be very sick.

A lab can only help.

#13

Thanks Oak! I usually buy my Kefir pre-made it is lowfat and bottled by Lifeway. You are right kefir is thicker and contains more live and active cultures than regular yogurt. I have a bottle of Blueberry Kefir from Lifeway in my fridge right now, however, I am going to try the recipe you provided for making your own and see how it turns out.

           :D
#14

Pasteurization is used to kill bad bacteria (pathogens) in bad milk. Pasteurization consists in heating the milk below the boiling point, removing from the heat source,and
cooling it:

In the process of heating the milk, all enzymes are lost. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures greater than 48 degrees centigrades (118 degrees Fahrenheit). This destroys many qualitities of milk. That is why raw milk is better.

Healthy cows fed on grass do not produce milk with pathogens.

Cows fed on grass live 3 imes longer than cows fed on grain.

http://www.cheeseslave.com/got-raw-food-50-ways-to-increase-enzymes-in-your-diet/

#15

[QUOTE=Lavendar;81974]Thanks Oak! I usually buy my Kefir pre-made it is lowfat and bottled by Lifeway. You are right kefir is thicker and contains more live and active cultures than regular yogurt. I have a bottle of Blueberry Kefir from Lifeway in my fridge right now, however, I am going to try the recipe you provided for making your own and see how it turns out.

           :D[/QUOTE]

You are welcome.

The kefir you buy from the food store might be very good. What about the price ? I make cca 3 liters of kefir a week. How much would cost you to buy 3 liters of kefir ?

#16

The “Lifeway” Kefir I buy costs me $2.79 for a quart bottle. This is the best price I have found as I have seen it priced between $3.79 a bottle and $3.99 and again that is for a quart. On average a quart will last me 3 days as I drink about 10 oz and there is 32 0z to the quart.

Usually the store I purchase the kefir from only carries strawberry and blueberry. (It’s okay, I like them both) last week they had peach and it is very good!

The bottle has a website www.kefir.com to customize your own kefir creation. I haven’t gone to the website yet, as I just noticed this printed on the label.

#17

Update

I now follow a Blood type diet and I am feeling great. It has me as mostly a vegetarian with some Chicken, Turkey and certain fish allowed. Also certain carbs, not all, are supposedly not good for me, so I tend to avoid them and so far so good.

#18

Thanks for the update @SCMT and glad to hear you’re feeling great!